Sensual Insanity
by Jade Bottle
Summary: "Hm... This plate must not be calibrated to someone of your... generousness. I'll add a few zeros to the maximum weight. You look great by the way. Very... healthy..." Happens during ME2 -be warned of mary sue tendencies, full warning in prologue.
1. Prologue

(Author's Notes: Warning: This is not meant to be taken seriously. This is a shameless mary sue/self insert. I'm warning you now so those of you who detest such things can stay clear away.

Those who are interested to see how this goes, good luck to you. I'm sure characters will be OOC, I'm sure things will not be according to your personal taste. That is why I have this warning. If you cannot suspend your disbelief to enjoy some humorous, mary-sue fluff: Don't read. This is catered toward the folks who have an unexplained craving of reading such things. Like myself. :)

I had posted this story years ago and took it down. I posted it on A03 with updated chapters – that version is the explicit one. This one will allude to adult situations but no descriptions. Currently working on the next chapter for CTMV so keep an eye out for that one in the coming week or so.

-o-

Prologue

_November 10, 2014_

"Are you sure you wish to do this Mrs. Shepard?"

"It's Miss Moreno now."

"Oh... I am sorry."

With a slightly trembling hand, I signed the contract with a flourish and threw the pen aside. My signature remained in fresh black ink, an almost illegible scrawl, on the stark white printer paper. The fine print of the contract I had just signed remained in my mind's eye, poking and prodding me with all the "what if"'s of what my life could have had. I was signing my life away...

Yet, my life was already over.

Cancer of the aggressive kind had a hell a way of making you take things into perspective.

I let loose a heavy breath as I sat back against the stiff chair I was in. I looked at the woman who sat behind the desk across from me. Her gaze was sympathetic as she reached out and pulled the papers toward her. "It is done then. Your family will be given full financial compensation on the day of your death. They will not be burdened."

A muscle ticked in my jaw but that was the only reaction that I gave as I nodded, the tears threatening to break though. My parents, my sister, my brother, and my nephews and niece, would be all right. It would be for the best. My husband- my ex-husband... He was free from the burden of having to care for me. I hoped he would find another and grow the family he deserved...

"We appreciate and value your business Ms. Moreno... and... I am truly sorry," said the woman as she took the contract and placed it within a file among a stack of others. "I promise that we will treat your body with the utmost respect. Any positive results that will further our research will be worthwhile."

"It won't matter to me much longer Mrs. Lawson," I said as glanced down at my clasped hands. "Yet, if it will help increase the chances for the survival of others who are or will get sick... It will mean something to future generations."

I could hear a creak in the woman's chair and I looked up to see her leaning forward, her eyes studying my face. "Estella, you are a brave woman. Not many would be so willing to give all that they are for the good of science and medicine."

"It is all I can do at this point," I said in reply as I looked away. "Whatever you do with me, I won't be alive to care." I stood up and reached out my hand to her. "Thank you for taking care of my family... Amanda."

The woman named Amanda Lawson gave a sad smile as she stood up as well and took my hand in hers, giving it firm shake. "It is my pleasure Estella. I hope that you enjoy the time you have left."

-o-

_September 28, 2015_

The sound of laughter bubbles up all around.

"This is our time! For me? A year before I get shipped out to hell! For you? A year or more before you get shipped out to heaven! Woo! I still think you got the better end of the deal."

More laughter, the sight of long auburn hair swaying and a bright smile bringing such joy.

"El, no matter what happened between you and my brother. You are still my sister..."

Music pumping loud and clear.

Strobe lights flickering on and off.

Lasers light shows.

The smell of sweaty bodies and the sight of them bumping and grinding against one another.

Dancing and liquor.

"Alice, I don't think I can bend that way."

"Estella Moreno! You get your big breasts and your big ass down here and get on this dance floor! You ain't dead yet! Be alive tonight!"

Swaying motion, laughter, so much fun...

Black out.

Nothing.

More swaying though at rest.

"Don' w'ry El... Slip it 'ff... Got a desig- designater... A sober driver. Get us home..."

Warm arms... Warm hug... Safe...

"Lov' ya girl... My sis forever..."

The sound of squealing tires.

Screams.

Pain.

Blackness.


	2. One

Chapter 1

Muffled voices were coming through, the sound of a monitor giving off a repetitive beeping sound bringing forth a feeling of annoyance.

"Alice..." My voice came out in a croak and I groaned, my head feeling as if it had been slammed between two concrete blocks. "No... tequila..."

"She's waking up." A somewhat deep voice spoke somewhere off to my left and I turned my head slightly in the direction of where it came from. My eyes felt as if they were crusted with days of sleep and they refused to open.

"How are her vitals? Any signs of a relapse?" asked another voice, a female this time around. She sounded somewhat familiar to me; the voice had an Australian accent to it. I had heard it before somewhere...

"Going strong. I think this one might make it."

A sigh of relief sounded to my right and I turned my head in the direction of the sound, still trying to open my eyes to see where I was and who it was that was beside me. "Wha...?"

"Ms. Moreno, can you hear me?"

I let out a small whimper as I felt a warm hand grab mine. My joints felt stiff and there was pain. So much pain. "Relax, Ms. Moreno. We're going to give you a sedative. You're doing very well."

I heard the monitor continuing in its strong beeping and then heard another louder beep before I felt something in my left wrist twitch. Already I could feel myself drifting off as the hand that held mine gave a gentle squeeze and I heard a whisper against my ear. "Be strong. You need to survive this... Prove me right..."

I knew I had said something in response to the voice but I couldn't be sure what. The darkness was taking me back into its sweet embrace.

-o-

The first thing I was aware of in my wakening thoughts was the feel of very stiff cloth surrounding me. Bed sheets... A hospital bed?

A groan was the first thing to emerge from my mouth as I started to move my body. Various places felt stiff. My arms, my legs, my neck, even my fingers and toes. They felt as if they hadn't been moved in such a long time... What the hell happened?

"Ms. Moreno?"

It was that voice again, that woman with the accent. Where had I heard it before? I struggled to open my eyes and was relieved to find my lids responding this time. They felt clean and clear of crust and my lashes fluttered a few times before a fierce fluorescent light from above greeted my sensitive vision. I winced and moved my arm, holding a hand above my eyes to block the light. It took a moment for my sight to adjust to the light and I slowly moved my hand down, my eyes catching sight of a very beautiful woman looking down at me.

She was of Caucasian descent with thick dark hair that was styled loosely and ended about her shoulders. Her eyes were bright and alert, a lovely shade of blue. I knew her. I had met her before but seeing her now seemed strange. She looked younger than I remembered.

"Amanda?"

The look on her was one of recognition but there was shock and sadness there. As if she had not been expecting me to say such a thing. The woman shook her head as she went to take a seat in a chair beside my bed and offered a kind smile. "Er... No. Ms. Moreno, my name is Miranda Lawson."

"Oh," was all I could say in reply as I tried to sit up but struggled, my joints were so stiff. "Sorry. You look so much like her. Are you her younger sister or... her daughter?"

Miranda gave a soft noise that sounded suspiciously like a sob. "L-let me help you," she said as she moved out of her chair to help me sit up.

"Thanks."

"You're welcome." She moved away from me and sat back down in her chair. "In answer to your question, no. However, I am a member of her family."

"I thought so," I said, lightly rubbing my left wrist as I tried to get the stiffness out. "You resemble her, especially in the eyes. Amanda was always concerned about me. More so than she needed to be..." I smiled a little as I thought back on the last time I had seen her. She had always been so insistent on visiting me when I had one of my attacks. "I guess there was a chance she would be too busy to see me herself for once. Oh goddess, my bones hurt..." I continued to rub my wrist as I looked at Miranda. "How is Amanda?"

Miranda's face took on a somewhat hesitant look as she shifted lightly in her chair. "I-Er- Hm..." She shifted again as her gaze settled on everything but me. She looked nervous. "Before I answer that, I need to know Ms. Moreno-"

"Estella," I interrupted, giving a small smile as she glanced at me. "Or El, as my family and friends like to call me. Amanda is one of my closest friends. If she sent you here in her place that means she trusts you. So, please, drop the formalities."

Miranda stared at me for a moment before she gave a nod in consent. "Very well... Estella," she continued, "Do you know where you are?"

"Hospital," I said in reply as I glanced around the room, taking in the sight of the very sterile white walls and gray floors. There were no windows in this room and my bed was one of a few pieces of furniture. It was nothing like any hospital I had been to but hospitals were always modernizing. "I must've had another attack..."

"Attack?" Miranda tilted her head slightly, a look of confusion touching her very beautiful features.

"I'm-" I let out a breath as I shook my head, reaching out to rub the stiffness in my left shoulder. "I have a very aggressive case of ovarian cancer. I'm in the latter stages. Sometimes the pain can get to be too much. Amanda is always having someone with me if it happens. I don't know why she cares so much..." I frowned and looked at her. "I'm surprised you don't know. Didn't she tell you?"

"Not directly," said Miranda, studying me with interest. There was a moment of silence between us before she shifted again and crossed her legs. "Ms- um... Estella, what do you remember last?"

The question seemed a bit off but it wasn't unusual. Amanda asked it often enough when I had passed out and awoke to find myself in a hospital bed. The last moments were always fuzzy but it helped to determine my mental stability. I looked down at my hands; the caramel flesh looked so dark against the stark white of the bed sheet that covered me. I was dressed, though what I was dressed in was hard to tell. It was a black and white skin tight affair with a strange symbol on the left beast. It looked like a diamond with open ends toward the bottom part. It was paralleled by two other lines outside of it. The design was very angular, very modern. I could not recall a hospital that had such an outfit with such a symbol but it was comfortable.

"I was out with a friend," I began, my gaze turning away from my outfit and frowned as I tried to recall the last moments before I had blacked out. "No... My best friend... and my former sister-in-law- though we still think of each other as sisters." I closed my eyes, the memory of that night starting to come back in bits and pieces. "Alice Marie Shepard, if you need to verify with her. We went out for drinks and dancing. To celebrate that one moment in life in which we were nothing more than two women, single and free." I smiled, the memories coming on stronger. "We had so much fun. I love that girl to bits. She's getting deployed to Syria next year and has to head out for boot camp in another week. She was going to be gone for who knew how long and I was going to die in who knew how long..." I opened my eyes as I swallowed at the tightness in my throat. The memories were coming back stronger now.

You ain't dead yet! Be alive tonight!

"We drank too much but we had a blast," I said with a laugh, remembering Alice's awful dance moves. She never could hold a rhythm despite my attempts at trying to teach her. But it never stopped her from enjoying herself. She just simply laughed right along with me. "The last thing I remember is getting into a car with Alice. She had hired a driver to take us around. We were both hammered and heading home." I could feel the tension as I tried to recall what had happened but there were only bits and pieces again. The rest was blank spots, thanks to the alcohol. Or the cancer. "There was screaming... I had blacked out..."

I placed a hand to my forehead, trying to think on what had happened. "Squealing tires... An accident?" I looked at Miranda and shook my head. "Did we get in a car accident?" The panic began to rise as I studied the other woman, truly looked at her, and noticed that her clothing was unlike any style I had ever seen. "Was Alice hurt? Is she OK?" I could see the hesitance in Miranda's eyes and I leaned toward her, trying to get her to look at me. "Miranda, please tell me my sister is all right. I don't care about myself. I'm dying anyway. But if Alice got hurt... You have to tell me!"

Miranda reached out and took my hand in hers, giving it a gentle squeeze while her blue eyes studied mine. "Relax. She had made it out. She was all right."

I let out the breath I had held but my relief was short-lived. I had caught the past tense. I pulled my hand from hers and struggled to sit up straighter. "What do you mean was?" The frown on my face grew as she straightened and clasped her hands in her lap.

"Estella, the accident had happened quitesome time ago."

"Would you care to elaborate?" I asked in turn, my worry beginning to rise. "Exactly how long? A week? A month?" I was beginning to get scared. Had I been in a coma for that long? How much time had passed?

"That accident took place in September of 2015." Miranda studied me as she took in breath and shifted slightly in her chair to move closer to me. "That was nearly 169 years ago..."


	3. Two

Chapter 2

169 years...

I still couldn't wrap my head around that number.

169 years had passed since the accident that took my life? It wasn't the cancer. Oh no. Goddess no... The universe had a perverse sense of humor and my life had been taken by a drunk driver instead. What the hell...

Miranda had gone on to explain exactly what had happened to me. I listened with clinical indifference. All that she said held little weight for me. I guess the shock had taken over my system.

She was a member of the Lawson family but not as close of a member as I had originally thought. She was actually the great, great, great granddaughter of my close friend. Amanda had been shocked by my sudden death but had proceeded with what we had agreed upon on our contract. What was left of my mangled corpse had been used in research in finding ways of preventing and curing cancer from genetic causes. I and several others had been the key to finding the cure to treating various cancers of breast, ovarian and cervical strains. Many had survived thanks to Amanda's relentless work. She had always been so diligent in her research and kept records of everything.

It seemed that Amanda had not been so keen to let me go. She had grown attached to me and had placed my body in cryogenic stasis immediately following my death to prevent deterioration. Hell, she had been rich enough; she had access to the technology and facilities. She had been adamant in keeping my body in the best state of preservation for future research but mainly for one specific purpose. Namely, the chance of finding a way of bringing someone back to life.

She had wanted to give me a second chance at life. After all, the universe had dealt me such a terrible hand to play with the first time around.

Amanda had not lived to see any results of such a task but her family had continued in the research and the experiments. 169 years later her descendant, Miranda Lawson, was the one to find a way to reanimate me. I was but one experiment that was a part of a larger, much larger, project that she was the head of. What that was, she did not tell me as of yet. However, she did tell me that I was the first successful experiment to survive and they were going to use what they learned from me into practice for this larger project.

I was still reeling over the fact that not only was I alive but in a time I had never even imagined of.

I was 200 years old...

How in the hell had I been preserved for so long? How had they found a way to reanimate me?

It felt like a dream to me...

-o-

I had not believed Miranda. At least not at first.

It was very easy to be pulled along for a fool and I was never one to take things at face value.

It wasn't until she had taken me out of my room, after I had put on some matching boots to my outfit, that I realized she may have spoken the truth.

The technology was nothing like what I had remembered. Everything was so... modernized. So alien. She had taken me down several corridors; some of the doors that we passed would open on their own, sliding open in separate sections before a staff member would emerge. We had also passed a few men and women walking in the opposite direction in a corridor, all dressed in same black and white skin-tight suits as my own. They seemed to be the standard issue for the staff here, though that did not explain why I was also wearing it. I also couldn't help but notice how very healthy they all were. Fit and trim, not an ounce of fat to be seen. They looked to be more military or something like it. I felt more out-of-place than before. I was anything but trim and the skin-tight outfit left little to the imagination.

I could feel the blush in my cheeks when one man who passed us did a double take and looked back at me or, more pointedly, my breasts. Now, Miranda was a very beautiful woman, fit as a fiddle, with perky breasts that weren't well hidden by her own tight outfit. She was also taller than me so her form was much more pleasing to the eye. I was shorter and a thicker woman by default, meaning that my breasts were a tad larger than hers. Take the skin-tight outfit I was wearing and you got to see things that I did not feel comfortable having on display.

I crossed my arms across my breasts, trying to hide them from view, as I hurried after Miranda with unsure steps. I had no idea where she was leading me but at this point I did not question her. Seeing all the people with all of this strange technology, (What the hell were those glowing orange things around their left forearms and hands?) she was the only one I could trust to lead me at this point.

Miranda stopped before another door and the same orange glow on her left hand emerged as she used her right to type a few things on what looked like a holographic keyboard of some kind. "What is that?" I asked, my curiosity getting the best of me.

She looked at me, a slight look of surprise touching her features, before understanding appeared. "My apologies. I hadn't warned you about all you would see." She looked at the orange hologram around her left hand. "This is called an Omni-tool. It's standard issued for nearly every being in the galaxy. You wouldn't go very far without one."

"Being? Galaxy?" I could feel myself growing faint at the thought of it. "You mean... aliens? We found other intelligent life?"

She looked at me again and the understanding in her eyes was tinged slightly with surprise. "Why... yes. Of course, they had not been known in your time. I was aware of that but I didn't think of it in the hurry..." She trailed off at that and looked at the door as it swished open. "I'll be sure to get you updated on the state of affairs of humanity, of Earth, our history, after this." She beckoned me to follow her and I did after a moment of trying to gather my thoughts.

We discovered other life...

I followed Miranda into an empty room, save for a few desks and chairs that faced the right wall and had a large glass window that spanned the length of the left wall. It gave a view that looked down into another brighter room. She walked toward the window and looked down, her arms folding beneath her breasts. I followed her and stopped beside her, my arms dropping from hiding my own. Down below in that room, there appeared to be an operation going on. There were several robotic arms working diligently over a single person on a gurney, a woman from the looks of it. She had auburn hair that was cropped short and, though I could see little of the face thanks to an oxygen mask, there was something familiar about that person.

"Alice?" I asked after a moment and turned my gaze toward Miranda. "Is that Alice Shepard?" For a second, I felt a wild hope within me. A hope that I was not the only one who had been frozen only to wake up in this strange new reality. However, that hope was dashed the moment the taller woman looked at me. The look on her face was one of surprise.

"Alice Shepard? No, this is Commander Jane Shepard of the Alliance Navy." A thoughtful frown touched her face as she looked back at the woman who looked so much like my best friend. "This is Alice's descendant, a several times great-niece. Another brave woman of the Shepard line who served her people to the best of her ability." Silence fell between us, a heavy silence that had me feeling a dull ache in my heart. Miranda cast her gaze my way and I looked away to stare down at the woman resembled my best friend, my sister, from a life now gone by.

"It's almost unbelievable," she began to say though I did not look at her. "You were the only one who managed to survive the reanimation process. The nine others before you..." She trailed off at that before she turned and I could hear her footsteps walking off. She sounded as if she had begun to pace. "You had survived. You remember so much of your earlier life, especially the people. It's so much more than I could have ever hoped for." I heard her pause in her steps and this time I looked at her, the frown on my face telling. She saw the look on my face and a small smile touched her beautiful features. "I'm just in awe. My genes and that of Shepard's... Our family still runs so strongly within us that you see our ancestors in our faces. Women who were friends of yours. I had hoped but I did not truly think you would keep your memories. You had been killed 169 years ago and frozen for much of that time. Who knew what would have happened?"

"I had survived, the goddess willing, but for what? Amanda wished this for me. Why did you see it through? You had picked me for a reason. I doubt it was simply to keep a promise and uphold the family honor." Shock, it had to be shock. Whenever I was faced with something beyond my comfort level, I always took on a distant façade. This was no different. I knew the shock would later to give way to grief. Right now though, I needed to be clinical. It was the only way to get answers.

Miranda began to twiddle with her fingers, the white-gloved digits folding over one another. She looked nervous, which was something I had not been expecting. "You are right. I had chosen you for this project for a purpose. Not only for the promise that our family swore to uphold to Amanda Lawson but the hope that you would survive."

"Is that why nine others had failed before me? You wanted to be sure of your techniques and hoped that I would survive?"

Guilt touched her features but she did nod. "I wanted to perfect the techniques before we had tried it on you. Each failed experiment brought more knowledge and experience. This had never been done before and we could not allow the chance for Shepard not to survive. Humanity needs her at this critical time. You helped in bringing us closer to that goal. You are the key to figuring out exactly what we need to do. Now, the Lazarus Project will continue with full force." She looked away, her face taking on a thoughtful look. "It took over a year and a half of experimenting with others who were placed under cryogenic stasis, the kind that meant freezing the body to sub-zero temperatures with nitrogen. We had picked ten candidates from various facilities from the early to mid-21st century who had gone through this process. You were the tenth, selected personally by me once I had finally found you." She began to pace again, her nerves getting the best of her. "I knew who you were. I knew you were important to my family. Unlike my father, I had looked deeply into my origins, into the very history of the Lawson family. I had researched every archive and every record we had, taking in all that I could. All of that research and I had found you by accident, buried beneath piles and piles of lost archives. The anomaly." She paused and looked at me. "You were the unofficial daughter of Amanda Lawson. She had all but adopted you into the family to make sure you would not be lost. I don't know what you had done to impress her but she had remembered you. She had done all that she could to make sure that the family would not forget you nor of the promise she had made every succeeding generation acknowledge when they came to control the company. It was in each will drafted from each passing head of family, the promise to bring you back to life. The records had been old but still available if one dug deep enough."

I ignored that inquiry. That was a bit too personal and it was something that she did not need to know at this time. My relationship with Amanda was of no immediate concern to hers. "That doesn't explain why you had picked me to be reanimated. I was an old forgotten relic. Best left in the dust. Why would you choose now to make me a part of this project?"

Miranda gave a nod and turned to walk toward me, stopping right beside me. Her blue eyes were taking on a vulnerability I had not expected to see. Something told me this was a side to her no one ever got to see. "My family had lost its vision. The dynasty that Amanda Lawson had created with her pharmaceuticals corporation had given rise to a descendant who could care less for the greater good of the people. I am not like my father. I do not want the name of Lawson to be remembered as greedy and self-righteous assholes despite how I may personally be. Amanda was the one who started the family success with dignity. I want to turn my family back toward that direction. I want to look at myself and know I had done all that I could to make things right again. No one alive today would have even the faintest idea of what Amanda Lawson would have wanted done. Save for you." She took in a breath to calm her nerves. "Amanda had hoped that one of her descendants would find a way to bring you back, to give you a second chance. Her records were clear in this fact. I had hoped to make that happen. The Lazarus Project was the perfect chance for that. You have no idea how relieved I am to see you here alive."

"So you had brought me back to life to give you advice on what I think Amanda would have wanted?" I asked, my voice taking on an incredulous tone.

"More or less," she admitted, "However, I mainly wanted to give you that second chance. Now that you are here... Well, I had hoped that you would be willing to help me but other more important matters have taken precedence. In the meantime, you need not worry for anything. You are officially under my employment, or rather Cerberus'. You will be taken care of and will be brought up to speed on all that has happened. I will be the one to oversee your education into this new life. Any questions you may have, please feel free to ask me."

My heartbeat had begun to rise, my anger rising with it from the sheer audacity of this woman before me. I wanted to hate her so much, to hate her for bringing me back from death. I had been nothing more than part of an experiment that had gone right. I was serving no other purpose aside from showing that they could bring someone back. A selfish notion to play creator...

However, I did not have the energy. I suddenly felt very tired and wanted nothing more to lie down and fall back into the sweet embrace of nothingness.

"I... would like to go back to my room..." was all I said in response. My shoulders were slumping and I could feel myself growing weaker by the moment. Too much, too soon...

"Estella?" Her voice sounded distant and I felt her hands gripping my upper arms, trying to keep me upright. A moment passed and I felt her firm grip as she struggled to move me down to the floor before she checked my pulse. It must have been bad because she was practically yelling. "I need medical assistance now! Experiment 10's vitals are failing!"

I closed my eyes, surrendering to the blackness with a sigh of relief.


	4. Three

Chapter 3

"Estella? Can you hear me?"

I groaned at the familiar sound of Miranda's voice, my first conscious thought being that I hated fainting spells. They had happened often enough before the accident. It was something I was hoping not to experience again. "What happened?"

"You had gone into shock. I am sorry. Apparently all of that information, seeing all that you had, was too much for your body to handle. Don't worry. We are monitoring your vitals and everything is showing healthy and strong. I promise to be more careful with you from now on."

"Leave me alone..."

I could not believe it. I heard her laughing before the laughter gave way to soft sob. "I'm afraid I can't do that. You are a personal investment. I like to see my investments succeed."

I struggled to open my eyes and found myself back in the familiar settings of my room. Miranda was sitting in the chair to my left as before, though this time she was looking considerably worried. To my right, I could hear a machine keeping track of my vitals. That incessant beeping was grating on my nerves.

"Why would you be so invested in a dead woman?" I looked at her, the sound of the beeping monitor matching with the pulse of my heart. "The only thing I could offer you is nostalgic tales of days gone by. My friends are dead. My family is dead. Everyone and everything I had ever known is long gone. The only thing I still carry with me is that damned cancer and who knows how long before it kills me off for good as it was meant to."

Miranda's gaze held mine as she gently shook her head. "No Estella. That is the one thing I can guarantee is also gone for good. Any trace of cancerous cells you had within you had been eradicated before you even showed signs of life. We needed you at your best health to increase your chances of survival. There may be some new parts but you are healthier than any human from your time. I dare say you may live longer than any of them thanks to your implants."

I closed my eyes and shook my head. "Great. Terrific," I said, ignoring the latter part of her comment. I didn't want to think of whatever implants she spoke of.

I felt a hand close over mine and I opened my eyes to look at the other woman. She was leaning in close and her blue eyes were showing desperation I had seen in only the people who were on their last leg. "Please... I know this is too much to take in. I know you must be feeling scared and alone. I just... I have no one else to turn to. I have no one else I can truly trust. I need your help. Amanda Lawson saw something in you. Something worthwhile. I want to believe in that. I need something else- someone else - to believe in."

I stared at the woman before me. To see the desperation in her eyes, the pure emotion. She was a woman at her wit's end and she was looking for a way out of whatever crap she had found herself in. My traitorous heart. It always had a weakness...

I took in a breath, knowing that I was in a situation that was beyond me. I was in a place in a time with a person I had no choice but to trust. Now that I was alive and aware, I did not want to lose this second chance that had been given to me. Amanda had wanted this for me. I was going to honor that, in respect of her.

"I don't know what I can do to help you. I can't even fathom what I could do to even be an asset but... you brought me back..."

The resignation in my voice could be heard and a small smile touched her beautiful features. I was resigning myself to this situation. I was going to learn all that I could and gain any skills that I could until I could stand on my own. I was quite adept at surviving a situation when it called for it. It ran strong in my family. My mother had been that way. A single mother of three at the age of 24, making her way in the world after finally breaking free of the abusive relationship she had been in with the man who I called my sperm donor. She had survived and raised three children on her own before meeting the man who I would call my father. The only man who had loved her and her children enough despite it all...

She had raised me to be strong. To face whatever life threw at you with bravery and hope. There was always a light at the end of the darkness, even if it was just a flicker.

Miranda Lawson was that flicker for me at this time. No matter what this new life brought me, I would have to do all I could to make sure this flickering light did not go out. In fact, I hoped I would be able to make it stronger and, perhaps in time, I may find brighter ones to join it.

-o-

"I read that you were a Registered Nurse in your time."

Miranda and I were sitting at a table that looked to be the mess hall for the station. It had been 24 hours since my fainting spell and I was feeling more at ease with my current situation. Miranda felt it was all right for me to leave my room and take a tour of the Lazarus Research Station that we were now on. It still boggled my mind that I was in a space station in the middle of nowhere. The large, thick windows in the mess hall confirmed what my mind was just beginning to process. I had an excellent view of a distant star that was closest to the space station and, beyond that, the millions of others like it. I was in space... Holy hell...

"Yes, but my real role was as a surgical nurse," I said in reply to Miranda's comment, tearing my gaze away from the windows. She smiled at me, understanding in her gray eyes. "I had worked under a doctor who was brilliant. His percentile of successful recoveries from high risk surgeries had been very high itself during my tenure under him. I had quit after I had found out about my own sickness..."

Miranda listened to me as I went on to tell her of my life before the cancer. Of my husband, my house, my two dogs and the hope of one day being a mother. How all of that was dashed the moment I found out of my sickness. I couldn't tell her more. The emotions were still so fresh and I couldn't stop the gasping sobs as I dug the heels of my palms into my eyes, trying to keep the tears at bay. I had thought I had gotten over this...

I felt an arm wrap around my shoulders and I dropped my hands away from my eyes to see that Miranda had taken the seat next to me. She was offering her comfort though she looked uncomfortable herself. I couldn't help but compare her to Amanda at that moment. The laugh bubbled out of me before I could stop it and I gave her a watery smile. "It's little things like that I will have to get used to. You resemble Amanda but it's going to be the little actions you do that will truly throw me off."

"What do you mean?"

"Amanda was a caring woman. She cared about her family, her friends, and the perfect strangers under her care. You don't know me and yet you offer me comfort." I let out a giggle and shook my head. "It's just nice to see that some traits had been inherited."

She seemed surprised by that comment and I could see the tears in her eyes before she tried to blink them away. "Well- you-," she cleared her throat and released her hold on me. "I think we should get you started on your education," she said, trying to get back to business. "You have a lot to learn but I think your experience in the medical field will be an asset. What would you feel about earning your place back into a nurse's position? We should look into giving you some combat training as well. With an imminent war on the way, Shepard and her team will need all the help they can get."

I couldn't help but laugh at that. "You mean you need to find a use for me as one of your investments. From what you had told me so far, your employer had spared no cost in getting this project to succeed. Since I am one of those successes, you need to put that money invested to good use." I could see it from a business standpoint though from an emotional standpoint I felt like piece of property. In essence, I pretty much was. I kept my emotions separate though and retained that clinical façade that had served me so well in my last days before the accident. "I'll be willing to learn all I can and do what I can to earn my way. I owe you that as much."

Miranda caught the meaning in my words and she turned in her chair to face me properly. "Listen to me Estella. Do not think you will ever be held against your will. If you decide to walk away now, I will not stop you. You have no attachment to me or to this project. Hell, you have no need to even help in this war. I will make sure you have what you need and you will be free."

I was touched, I could honestly say that. I could see the sincerity in her eyes. This was something she felt fiercely about, something from personal experience. If she was in something that she was trying to be free of, I could not let the descendant of one of my closest friends be hurt. Hell, I could not walk away from even Shepard. She was the descendant of my sister-in-law...

Of my ex-husband...

I held that obligation to them to take care of family. It had still been a shock to see the family line when Miranda had shown me earlier but there it was in holographic brilliance. Hers and Shepard's. What a small world. Or galaxy in this case.

"I'm not going anywhere," I said as I reached out to take her hand in mine. "Family sticks together. You and Shepard would be the only family I have left now. I will do what I have to help you both."

Miranda let out a small laugh as she gave my hand a squeeze. "We're not the only family you have left. There's someone a little closer to home."


	5. Four

Chapter 4

I couldn't calm the anxiety I was feeling.

I was bouncing on the balls of my booted feet; my eyes were darting around at every sound of an opening door. I was sure I was annoying my benefactor. However, Miranda was the epitome of serenity and she simply smiled as she waited beside me in the main corridor that led to the docking bay of the station. I supposed she could tell that I was excited and wanted so badly to see the only blood relative I had within reach to me.

I couldn't help the way I felt.

A couple of weeks had passed since that talk in the mess hall and Miranda had advised me on the whereabouts of my family member. I was ecstatic beyond all reason the moment she had told me that he had accepted an invitation to meet us. This was a direct descendant of my baby brother. A many times great-nephew. I had remembered my niece before I had died and she had only been five at the time. The fact that she had grown up and had children of her own and those children had children...

169 years was a very long time by human standards to make a bloodline and there were many causes for those blood lines to go extinct. Mine had survived and I was eager to meet my direct next of kin.

Of course, I was not sure how I could explain why I was so happy to see him, why I was so emotional. He wouldn't know me from Eve. All he would see was some random woman, looking at him as if he were the sun, moon, and stars. The goddess help me...

"Here they are," said Miranda as she turned toward the doors that led to the docking bay. "I would suggest refraining from trying to hug him just yet. No matter what your emotions tell you." She had said this with a smile, knowing full well my emotions would get the better of me at some point during this meeting.

The doors had slid open and an older woman was walking toward us. She was handsome for a woman her age, looking to be no more than in her early to mid-fifties. Her hair, mostly silver though some brown could be seen, was cropped short just below her ears. Behind her, a much younger man - who looked to be around my age - was limping along though he was keeping up with the woman's strides. His head was cast down, the brim of his cap obscuring his face from view. He was looking as if he were watching every step he took. I couldn't see his face but just from the body frame I could tell right away that this was him.

"Dr. Chakwas, thank you for responding to our request," said Miranda, a diplomatic but welcome smile on her face.

The woman named Dr. Chakwas had taken Miranda's offered hand and shook it firmly. "Thank you for asking kindly. When you had informed me of what Cerberus had done and was planning to do, you knew I would not hesitate to see for myself."

"Will you consider joining us then?"

Dr. Chakwas glanced at me before turning her gaze back to Miranda. "Only for the sake of Commander Shepard. Do not think that I agree with what Cerberus has done so far."

"And your helmsman?" asked Miranda, casting her blue eyes my way as the smile on her face grew. She could see the excitement within me and I could tell she was enjoying this. Stalling the inevitable.

I'll get her for this later...

"Flight Lieutenant Jeff Moreau is willing and able," said the doctor as she looked at her companion. "Don't let his ailment fool you. I'm sure you have seen his records for yourself."

Miranda gave a nod. "Yes, quite. That was why we had requested him for the job. We had hoped he would consider taking it. "

"Ailment?" My voice had found itself then and the worry began as I looked at Jeff Moreau. "Is it really that bad?" All eyes fell upon me, including the man's. He had looked up at the sound of my voice and the moment those hazel-green eyes fell upon me, my breath was stolen. My baby brother's eyes were looking right at me... My niece's...

"Like you don't already know. Don't play..." He had begun to say but his voice had trailed off when he took a good look at me. There was confusion, I was sure of it, but recognition. I could feel my heart swelling with happiness. Did I resemble a family member of his? Were our family genes that strong?

"Do I know you?" he had asked, taking a limping step toward me. "You look familiar..."

The sob escaped me before I could stop it and I took a step toward him, wanting so badly to wrap him in my arms and bury him in kisses. I could see the resemblance. It was faint but it was there. My baby brother was in there, deep in his genes, and his eyes were looking at me in guarded curiosity. I couldn't speak as I studied the man before me, my eyes taking him as if he were the key to my survival.

For all I knew, he probably was.

I looked at Miranda, the gaze in my eyes pleading. I was close to breaking my word in not attacking him. Miranda caught the look and she turned her blue eyes back toward her guests. "As you were informed, the Lazarus Project's aim is to bring Commander Jane Shepard back into the line of duty. For the sake of humanity's future. You were brought here because the Commander will need familiar faces around her. People that she trusts. You two are among those she had considered among her most trusted. She will need you for the battle to come." She took in a breath and let out a sigh to calm her nerves. "However, the project was not at its best at the time we acquired Shepard a year ago. Though we have made progress, we had to do several other experiments to make sure that the techniques we would be performing on Commander Shepard would work."

"Experiments?" asked Dr. Chakwas, her eyes glancing from me to Miranda. The look on her face could best be described as affronted. "You mean you had attempted to reanimate others?"

"Several failed attempts," admitted Miranda, not looking the least bit ashamed. I had looked at her then, noting the considerable difference in personality. She had been open with me thus far, she trusted me to a point. She did not know these people.

"However, our latest experiment had been successful," she continued as she looked at me and gestured toward me. "Meet Estella Moreno. She was born in the year 1984 CE and died in 2015 CE. She had been cryogenically frozen after her death for future research by a well-known pharmaceuticals company at the time. She had been discovered a little over a year and half ago in an almost forgotten private facility back on Earth. She was chosen for the Lazarus Project due to the unique method of preservation she had undergone. A deep freezing that preserved much of her body tissue and showed very little in deterioration." Miranda smiled then as she looked at Dr. Chakwas. "She is a successful experiment in the Lazarus Project and what we had learned from her will be applied to Commander Shepard. She is the key to bringing the Commander back. You can be rest assured that we are serious in our endeavors based simply on this woman here."

"I do not understand," said the doctor, her face showing her obvious confusion. "What has she to do with meeting us?"

"It was not to meet with you doctor but with someone who you were still in contact with," said Miranda, casting her blue eyes toward my kin. "We had come across some interesting findings when we had researched Estella's background and bloodline, looking to see if she had any living descendants." She smiled then, that self-satisfied smile I always disliked. She was always so smug at times like this. "Apparently, she had a living descendant who we recognized right away. A very important descendant who had helped our dear Commander in the fight against Saren and the geth." The wheels were turning in their heads and I could see the realization on their faces as they put two and two together. "It seems the universe has an interesting sense of humor. What were the chances that our only successful experiment so far would have a living relative who was one of the key Normandy SR1 crew members in saving the galaxy? When she had found out about Flight Lieutenant Jeff Moreau, she had been very anxious in wanting to meet her great-nephew." She took a step away from me, a signal that I was now free to give into the want to hug my nephew.

I didn't hesitate to take another step toward him as he looked at me, confusion and a hesitance could be seen. "Wait... You're pulling my chain. There's no way-"

"Didn't I look familiar to you? Before all of that had been said?" I interrupted, my eyes studying his hazel-green ones. "Do I remind you of someone you know? A great-grandmother on your father's side? A cousin of hers? A lost forgotten aunt?" I wanted to reach out to him. I wanted to take his hand and feel that he was truly real. I didn't though. I didn't want to scare him any more than I had already. "I'll tell you what I see. I see my niece Lena in your eyes. I see her father, my little brother Jason, in your face. I see my uncles and male cousins and my own grandfather all smudged up within your brows, your nose... but especially in your ears..." I tried to hold back the sob but the tears fell anyway. "I see the people I had loved, and I had thought I would never see again, all alive in you." I could feel my body shaking, trying to subdue the sobs that were threatening to break forth. "I can prove myself to you. Just ask me and I will do anything to prove my worth to you. I just... want my family..."

Silence followed my declaration and Jeff Moreau was staring at me with wide eyes. His bearded lips were opening and closing but no words came forth. Finally, after a heartbreaking silence, he closed his mouth and reached up a hand to scratch his forehead, the brim of his cap pushing upwards. The silence stretched on before he took in a breath. "Actually, you remind me of my father. Very weak jaw line. I'd always wondered where he got that from..."

I gazed at him, shocked beyond all reason, before my laughter bubbled up out of me and my sobs became mixed within. I shook my head as I let out hiccupping laughs, my relief so palpable I thought I would simply fall apart in that very spot. "S-so much like Jay," I said with nostalgia. "Always cracking jokes when I'm trying to be serious. I always loved that."

"Oh, so you like jokes?" he asked, his smile growing as he watched me. "Oh man! You haven't heard any have you? New to life and all?"

I laughed again and shook my head in response, my smile threatening to outshine the closest star to this station. "Try me. I bet they'd be recycled old fossils my brother told me a million times. "

Jeff's eyes brightened with the challenge and I could see it, a bit of hesitant acceptance. He didn't believe me but I was sure the pure emotional honesty and sincerity I had shown had helped. We would need to get to know each other, need to get a feel for one another. He would need to see all the records of me of course. I would not lie to my nephew and I would be damned if anyone would do so.

Beside me, I could sense Miranda's eyes on me and I knew she was smiling that smug smile of hers. Things had gone according to what she had planned. I'd hate to advise to her that she had done possibly one of the biggest mistakes with me so far. I was with my nephew now, a man who was starting to resemble my baby brother in more ways than one. Jason and I had been very close before my death. As close as any brother and sister could be. Pranks had been our specialty growing up. If Jeff was anything like his several times great-grandfather, we were going to get along just fine...

-o-

A month later

I was surprised.

No, surprised wasn't the right word to use. Awe would be a better word.

I was sitting in Miranda's Lawson's office, right at her desk, and feeling all the blood drain from my face. This had been a normal routine for us lately. She had asked me questions about my past life and confirming if what I had remembered was accurate and correct. It was a test to see how well I remembered my life after being dead for so long. So, it was strange that instead of test this morning, she had a simple metal box on her desk. Miranda was sitting across from me and looking at me with an expectant look on her beautiful face. She had pushed the small box toward me and had told me to open it.

"It was the only thing that Amanda had managed to keep all of these years. It remained in the family vaults for so long and there had been no way to open it. No one knew what it was or what it could be for. It was keyed to open to only one particular set of genetic codes and it had to be a fresh sample. Not even a family member of that genetic code could be able to open it. It had to be an exact match. Since no one knew who the box was for and no one in the family was able to open it, it was forgotten about… until now." She cleared her throat and folded her hands on her desk. "I know now that was meant for your eyes alone and now you are here. I can only say it is past due to give it to you. Just place a finger in the depression there on the top of the lid. It will take a sample of blood and analyze it for a match."

I looked at Miranda before I reached out to take the metallic box. I pressed my forefinger against the depression she had indicated and immediately felt a prick against my skin and winced. It felt like a lancet prick, one of those little needles that were used to help get a sample to test your blood sugar. It didn't hurt but it would be stinging for quite a while. I removed my finger and stuck it in my mouth to lick the blood away.

The box had an LCD screen imbedded in the lid and it was displaying a range of numbers that were flicking from zero to ten and then sky rocketing. The moment it read "100 %" the box had beeped and unlocked with a surprisingly loud click. Miranda had been watching this with bated breath and the look on her face was one of relief. Apparently, she had doubted if it would open with me.

Ignoring her for now, I reached out to the lid and opened the box. A flash emerged and a hologram of an elderly woman could be seen. There was a bit of static and the image flickered every few moments but there was no denying the woman. She was a hell of a lot older than when I had last seen her. Her black hair had grown silver with age and fine wrinkles were etched on every part of her skin. Her brilliant blue eyes were still alert though and she was smiling happily. "If this message is playing than it can only mean that one of my descendants has fulfilled their promise and a very dear friend is sitting in front of this box now. Whoever you are young man or woman, my blood by who knows how many generations, you have my deepest gratitude and love."

Miranda was speechless as she looked at the recording of Amanda Lawson, her own blue eyes welling with tears.

"Estella, I know it may be a surprise to you. I'm sure by the time you see this message, if it is ever seen at all, I will be long dead. Still, if you are seeing this, it means you are alive. I don't know if you will remember me but you were one of my closest friends before you had died. I loved you like my own daughter and to lose you had ripped a part of my heart that I had no idea you had even taken. You had been erased so forcefully from this life. It was expected to happen given your sickness but... not for several years yet. I was hoping to have more time with you. Apparently, the universe has a perverse sense of humor, as you always liked to say."

I smiled at my old friend, the tears spilling freely as I stared at her weathered face.

"I don't know if you will hate me for having this done. I don't know if it can even be done. If it can, will you be the same Estella Moreno that your family and friends had loved? I don't know the answers to those questions. However, the answer I do know is that I cannot pass this life without knowing that at least I had tried... You died in a car crash thirty years ago. A side impact from a drunk driver that had demolished the passenger side you had sat in. Your best friend, Alice Shepard, had survived but... you were killed instantly. I had your body placed in cryogenic stasis, as agreed upon in our contract, and we had been able to make much progress in our research over the years, thanks in part to you. However, what was not publicly known was that I had another project in mind for you. A personal mission as it were. I had made ironclad stipulations in my will, and in the inheritance that was to follow for each succeeding generation, that there will be attempts to find a way to reanimate you. Your sitting here, alive and well, has put in place another legal contract between you and me."

I blinked in surprise, that comment was not what I had expected to hear. Another contract? What contract? I looked at Miranda, who simply glanced back at me and shook her head. She had no idea what contract her ancestor was speaking of.

"As of this moment, when you had given your blood sample to open this box," continued Amanda, "it should have activated another computer program within a well-known bank in my time. A separate trust account that you, and only you, will have access to. It has built interest over the years. If the careful investments I had made have become as fruitful as I had planned, this account should have grown. Should the currency be different depending on the year you are awoken be rest assured: These are stocks and bonds that can be converted. Should you wish to grant any persons you trust access to it that will be at your discretion. Think of this as a much-needed present from one friend to another." She had paused at this, letting out a painful sounding cough. She waved at someone who was off-screen, shaking her head to whatever had been asked of her. After she had managed to catch her breath, she focused her gaze back on me. "I want you to live your life again. Live it to the fullest. Find love if you can. Have children if you can. Adoption had always been a lovely option you had considered when you spoke of the off-chance you would live. Just know that I love you and this will ensure you will not want for anything. In this box is a single item you loved above all others. It was the only thing I had known you had worn at length and never took off. I saved it so, in the rare chance you would be hearing this, and it could be given back to its rightful owner. El... I love you... Promise me only one thing in turn. Be alive."

The recording ended then and I sat there in silence, the awe from hearing Amanda's voice again after so many long years paralyzing me. Finally, my curiosity getting the better of me, I reached inside the box, which was covered in black velvet, and my fingers brushed against a familiar shape. The feel of the cool metal brought about a clutching feeling in my chest. I hardly hesitated as I grabbed the object and pulled it out, a long heavy silver chain dangling over my fingers. I opened my hand and looked down at an old school ring made from sterling silver. It had a green emerald as its centerpiece, cut in a lovely way, but cracked in several corners from being banged too many times over the years. Around the stone, the words St. Martin's School was engraved. On one side of the ring there was a cross engraved surrounded by the numbers 1978 and, on the other side, a simple oil lamp showing rays of light above a bible. It was a large ring, a size nine, and I could never wear it on my fingers for fear of losing it, hence the chain.

Yet... here it was.

My Dad.

My father in all but blood.

His old high school ring.

It was here back in my hand. Something I never would have imagined to see again in this life. I slipped the familiar chain around my neck and the heavy ring settled comfortably back into its proper place between my breasts, over my heart. The one thing my dad had given me when he had no words to say...

Miranda was watching me with concern as I broke down for the first time in bawling tears.

At least until another hologram had popped up with information on the trust account that had been left for me. She nearly fell out of her chair at the amount of money now available and how much it would be worth once transferred to galactic credits. Apparently the built-in computer had picked up on the current trend. "Y-you... You have that much...? B-But... you're worth more than my father..."

I didn't comment. I simply laughed in between my sobs and thanked the goddess that I had made such a generous and loving friend...


	6. Five

Chapter 5

_10 months later_

_2185, Lazarus Research Station_

I ignored the blaring sirens that went on around me. I ignored the sound of Randa's voice as she urged me through my comm unit to stop fooling around and get to the shuttles. My Omni-tool was glowing orange around my left hand, showing me the most successful route to bypass some of the hacked mechs that were trying to kill every living thing on the station. I had to get to the Recovery room.

My priority at this time was getting to Shepard and making sure that she got to her feet. She had shown positive signs of surviving the reanimation process. There had been a few close calls the past year but I would be damned if she wasn't as stubborn as Alice. She had hung in there and had survived it all. She wasn't awake yet though and she had to be. Everything was hinging on her survival and I would be damned more so than I ever was if I allowed anyone to hurt my niece in all but blood.

She had never spoken to me, had never seen me, she had never even met me, but I knew all I could about the woman who was Commander Jane Shepard. In another life, another time, she would have been my descendant. My blood. Who the hell knew for sure? The goddess willing though, I was here now and I was not going to let some hacked mechs try to kill a member of my family. Of course, Randa had been everything but happy when she found out what I was doing. She was still yelling at me over my comm unit.

My combat training this past year had paid itself off and I was holding my own against these machines. Sure, this was my first real compact experience, and I admit I was scared shitless, but I had made it through to the Recovery-2 room in the Bio wing. My heavy pistol was running low on thermal clips and I was a jittery mess but I had made it. The moment the door had opened before me I could hear Randa's voice over the PA system, trying to rouse the sleepy Commander from her beauty rest. I would have laughed if I had not been so pumped on adrenalin and my fight/flight instincts hadn't been on high gear.

I had rushed to the gurney and was relieved to see that Shepard was moving. Slowly, awkwardly, but she was moving. I called out to Shepard and shook her by the shoulder, rousing her more than Randa's voice could at this moment.

"Wha...?"

"Questions later," I said as I took her by the arm and helped her into a sitting position. "Commander, we need to get the hell out of Dodge. I can hold my own but I'm not experienced enough with real on-the-field combat. You can do a hell of a lot more damage than me so I suggest you get up now. There's a pistol and some armor in the locker on the other side of the room."

The very floor began to shake beneath us and Shepard got to her feet, wincing slightly as she held her side. Apparently, some of her scars had not completely healed. Rushing to the locker for her, I grabbed the pistol and the armor from the locker and rushed back to her side. "Here. Put this on and get ready. This entire facility is under attack and I don't know how many more of the hacked mechs we have waiting for us out there. Goddess knows they had probably caught sight of me on my way here."

Shepard looked at me, her blue-gray eyes bringing an unexpected jolt of sad nostalgia through me, before she took the armor and weapon I offered. She got herself equipped quickly enough in her armor, a mostly black number that had some red strewn about. On the right side of her chest was the logo "N7". I could only imagine it would help her in more ways than protecting her. Knowing Randa like I did, she would have given a number of familiar things for Shepard to help jump-start the memories as she had done with me. In this case, her old armor.

"This pistol doesn't have a thermal clip," said Shepard, her eyes focusing on me as she got her weapon ready.

"Now is not the time to be picky," I said, kneeling down behind some empty beds for cover. My training had grilled this into me enough times. You could be shot at from anywhere. Seek cover where available. "We'll get you what you need." Not a moment after I said this an explosion sounded.

Shepard had kneeled down beside me; her arm had automatically going around in front of me in protection. Seems she could tell I wasn't very experienced in situations like this. Good. I'm glad to know my back would be watched. The moment the explosion had faded she got to her feet and I followed after her, Randa's voice now coming through both of our comm units. "Someone's hacking the security system trying to kill you. The both of you need to look for a thermal clip for your pistols."

"Thanks for stating the obvious Randa," I said, knowing she could hear me on her comm unit. I kept following after Shepard as we made our way through the blasted door. Thankfully, or not so thankfully, we found several thermal clips for our pistols in the next corridor. I could only imagine who would have left it there. I tried not to think about it as I followed Shepard past a makeshift barricade. She took down a rogue mech before I could even react and I followed after her in a daze. Goddess, she was quick.

"Keep moving! We need to get you to the shuttles," said Randa, her uniquely accented now finally grating on my nerves as she spoke over our comm units. We had made it to one of the observation decks but not before the door opposite us had blown open and several hacked mechs were making their toward us. "Shepard, Moreno! Security mechs are closing in on your position. Take cover!"

"Miranda Lawson, if you say one more obvious thing I am going to flay you the moment I see you, do you hear me?" Shepard glanced at me in question and I shook my head in response, though the silence that followed my statement was telling. Almost a year with combat training under her, learning all I could about this time and technology from her, and slowly getting to trust one another, had brought about a comfortable level of close friendship. "Keep us posted before the hacked mechs get to us. I know you have better visuals!"

"Just get moving El," was all Miranda said but I could hear the smile in her voice despite the situation. "Stay close to Shepard."

I looked at Shepard and motioned for her to keep moving, my own heavy pistol aimed and ready. It took the both of us to knock down the mechs in our way. Past one of the research labs, and a good hack from Shepard's Omni-tool to get the door to one of the labs opened, we made our way through. Our presence had activated one of the recorded logs on an abandoned computer. Wilson's voice emerged, lamenting on the budget of the project so far and that none of it had been kicked his way past what was in his contract. Suspicion rose in me but I ignored it for now, wondering if that was a file no one should have had access to. Wilson had been one of the vital members of bringing Shepard back, bringing me back.

He wouldn't...

He couldn't...

Then again, who the hell knew what he was feeling? In fact, why had that recording even started? I think with all the hacked mechs running wild on this station, whoever had hacked the system did not think about the security of the files on the research data. It seemed to be a win all/lose all situation...

The moment we made it past that lab and into the corridor that led toward one of the cargo bays, I heard a familiar voice calling out. "Moreno? Moreno! Help me!" I glanced at one of the windows that looked over the labs to my left and my heart nearly torn itself in two as I saw a familiar face of a man, his fists banging against the glass. It was one of the staff members of the station calling out to us. "Shepard? Shepard! Moreno! No please! Don't leave me! Help me!" There was a thud and a heavy mech emerged from the cloud of smoke and flame behind the man. The sound of heavy gunfire and a burst of crimson blood were all that I saw before I felt Shepard's hand grab my upper arm to drag me away. We kept running to our destination. Shepard did not know the man so did not stop to try to help him. My main concern was of the woman with me and making sure she survived this hell. I knew the man and it made my heart break even more. It was a decision I had hoped to never make, leaving one for the sake of another...

Then again, I had done that the moment I made my way straight to Shepard. How many had I bypassed on the way to her? I tried not to think about it.

We left the man to his fate and made our way up a flight of steps and took a left into one of the open areas in the center of the station that looked up above and down below to the other levels. It had been used as a hangout spot for the staff. Now it was a scene for an ongoing battle for survival. One of the more efficient members on this station was there, holding his own against several hacked mechs as he took cover behind the bullet proof glass of the guard rail.

Jacob Tyler caught sight of us and his dark eyes fell upon me in surprise. "El?! What the hell are you doing here with Shepard?"

"Taking her out for a nighttime stroll. I thought she could use the exercise," I said in response, kneeling down to his left side as Shepard took cover on his right.

He shot several rounds at the mechs before his dark eyes focused on me again. "Woman, I know you did not just ignore Miranda's orders to get to the shuttles just so you could get to Shepard."

"Orders aren't worth shit if it means my niece had to wake up alone," I said, my eyes focused on his as I lifted my pistol, took aim, and fired at a mech diagonally from me. "I wasn't gonna let her take this shit on her own when she's still recovering!"

"The Commander knows how to handle herself from the looks of it," he said with a surprised look on his face as he glanced at Shepard, who shot down a couple more of the mechs from across the way. Her aim was better than mine and a hell of a lot more efficient. "I thought she was still a work in progress."

"Key word was, Jake. Now she is, much like me, progress at work. Shepard is important, more so than any of us. Someone had to get to her to make sure she got moving. I was the closest so I went. End of story. She lives. We live. Simple enough."

"I just woke up," said Shepard a she ducked her head, her shields catching several shots from enemy fire. She looked at the two of us and shook her head. "I don't know what the hell is going on much less who you two are." She frowned lightly, her eyes flicking to me with open curiosity. "And why are you calling me your niece? I don't have any living family."

"Long story. Too long to tell right now," I said with a smile as I looked at her. Several shots cleared over us, one knocking into my shield. A crackle of blue energy emerged before it disappeared from sight. "Shorter version. You were dead. There was a big project that reanimated your frozen, fucked up, corpse with fresh shiny new parts and upgrades. Fast forward a bit: Someone hacked the security mechs in this station in an attempt to keep you dead and this is where find ourselves now. Any questions?"

Shepard stared at me for a moment before a slight smile touched her lips. "You wouldn't happen to be related to anyone named Jeff Moreau, would you?"

This time it was Jacob who outright laughed as he emerged from his cover and fired at another mech, its synthesized voice cutting off with a groan as its head exploded. "Oh this is gonna be good," he said as he got back down and looked at Shepard. "Look, we gotta get to the shuttles. We can fill you in on the way. I'm Jacob Taylor and this crazy woman beside me is Estella Moreno."

"I wish I could say it was a pleasure but considering the circumstances how about we just skip the pleasantries," said Shepard as she got her pistol ready. "You know this station. I'll follow you two and watch your back."

"Oh thank the goddess! I get to put my training to a real test," I said with a smile as I leaned over to nudge Jacob. "You ready to dance, 'o powerful biotic?"

I heard Jacob's groan as he repositioned himself to get a better vantage point. "Why do you keep calling me that? Miranda is more powerful. Why don't you call her that? "

"Randa's already full of herself enough as it is," I said as I replaced a thermal clip to my pistol. "Besides, you know you like it."

He huffed out a laugh as he shook his head and got up to throw a particular burst of biotics to pull one of the mechs toward us. It floated there helplessly as I got in a good head shot and it exploded in a shower of sparks.

"This is going to be interesting," I heard Shepard grumble as she got up to help clear the mechs out the way...

-o-

Shots, shots and more shots. Some biotics to add flavor in the mix and that was all she wrote.

Somehow or another, Wilson had managed to survive the onslaught of hacked mechs and was directing us to his location through our comm units. We took a few turns down a few corridors and the next thing I know, we are in Server Room B, where one of the major players of Project Lazarus was wounded. Wilson was the Chief Medical Officer of the project. He had actually been the one to personally oversee Shepard's recovery. He wasn't well liked on the station and it didn't help that he always gave off this holier-than-thou attitude. He was even worse than Miranda and, though I loved her, she was full of herself to the extreme.

Shepard was quick to find some medi-gel in one of the first aid cabinets and gave it to Wilson to apply to the leg wound he had. He staggered to his feet as he explained what he was doing in the server room, trying to find a way undo what had hacked the mechs in the first place.

"We didn't ask what you were doing," said Jacob, a slight frown on his face. "Why do you even have security mech clearance? You were in the Biowing."

_Twitch, twitch, _goes the suspicion_._

"Weren't you even listening? I came here to try and fix this. Besides, I was shot! How do you explain that?"

And there goes the disbelief. Too quick to switch the focus from himself.

"Very easy to shoot yourself in the foot - or leg in this case - if you don't know how to aim," I said as I crossed my arms beneath my breasts, the frown on my face was telling. I didn't believe a word of his story. I didn't know what he was truly doing here and based on his body language he definitely was trying to hide something. You weren't an RN for the better part of three years and not learned to pick up on body language. There were plenty of things a patient was willing to lie about for whatever odd ball reason about their health. I was thankful for my experience now as I watched Wilson's agitated gaze focus my way.

He was frowning at me and looked as if he was going to say something but Shepard had interrupted. "You're all strangers to me," she said, the look on her face was easy enough to decipher. She didn't trust any one of us. For some odd reason, I felt a strange clutching in my chest at the thought. Of course, I had known she would not trust so easily but seeing her had made me fall so easily back in time. I was seeing Alice again and for a moment I felt I had my best friend and sister back. Her declaration was a quick jarring reminder that she was anything but.

"Let's get someplace safe then we'll sort out whose fault it is," she continued, her gaze turning to me as the only other woman in the group. My face must have shown something of what I was feeling because I could see a slight flicker of concern cross hers. She didn't say anything to me though and I was thankful. I didn't know how I was going to explain my momentary lapse. I had thought I was finally getting past this. Seeing Shepard brought back unneeded and difficult emotions.

"Right Shepard," said Jacob. "We have to find Miranda. We can't leave her behind."

"Forget about Miranda," said Wilson, his eyes focusing on Jacob. "She was over in D-wing. There were mechs all over that sector. There's no way she survived."

I reacted before I could stop myself and moved over to roughly shove the bald-headed asshole. He fell back against the guard rail behind him as I pointed my pistol at him, threatening in the only way I knew how. "Don't breathe another lie or so goddess help me, I will shove my pistol so far down your throat you will be shitting thermal clips! Do you understand me? There's no way in hell a bunch of mechs would ever get the drop on Randa."

"Get the hell away from me." He pushed me away and I stumbled back a few steps only to have Shepard reach out to steady me. Wilson glared at me as he pointed a finger at me. "Crazy bitch. I don't know what the hell got up your ass. You're always defending her. What proof do you have? Miranda is as good as dead. If she wasn't then where the hell is she? Why haven't we heard from her? There's only two possible explanations: She's either dead or she's a traitor."

"She was yelling at me through our comm link just before Shepard and I found Jacob, you bald shit-for-brains," I said as I reached out to pat Shepard's hands in a reassuring gesture. I wasn't going to try to go after him again but my temper was anything but cool. She released me but I could sense her close behind me. "Communications broke from her area and we lost contact. There's no way for her to reach us if she has no signal in her area. That doesn't mean she's dead or a traitor."

"She did wake me up and warn me about the attack just before Moreno came to get me," said Shepard and I looked back at her to see a slight warmth in her eyes as her gaze met mine. It was slight, very slight, but I could see the trust there. Apparently, my risking my ass to help her won me some brownie points in her book above the others. That was a hell of a first step as far as I was concerned. "Why would she do that?"

"OK, maybe she's not a traitor," said Wilson, the frustration clearing showing on his face. "But that doesn't change the facts. We're here. She's not. We need to save ourselves."

"You are such a selfish bastard," I said without thought but I couldn't get another word in edge wise. The door opposite of where we were standing suddenly opened and several hacked mechs appeared, shots firing without pause. I was pushed aside without warning and Shepard moved in front of me. She aimed her left hand, a blue glow emitting from her fingers before the canisters filled with some unknown fuel source exploded. The echoing blast had left my ears ringing but it did the job and the path was now clear.

"OK, we took 'em down," said Jacob as he holstered his gun, "but this is getting tense. Shepard, if I tell you who we work for, will you trust us?"

"This really isn't the time Jacob," said Wilson, putting in his unneeded two cents.

"And neither is your attitude but you still see fit to smother us with it," I said as I put my pistol away and moved to stand close to Shepard. "The least we can do is be honest with her and let her know what she is involved with. That way she can make the decision to trust the lot of us on her own grounds." Shepard had not moved away from me when I stopped beside her. In fact, she shifted her position so that way she was slightly in front of me, as if trying to shield me from Wilson.

"El's right," said Jacob, throwing a grateful look my way as he turned to face Wilson. "We won't make it if she's expecting a shot in the back."

"If you want to piss off the boss, it's your ass Jacob."

"No, it won't be," I said as I shifted slightly, my boots thumping against the floor. "Can't get in trouble if another experiment tells, now can you Jacob?" I allowed a smug smile to show, a smile that told Wilson to fuck off, before I turned my gaze to Shepard. "The Lazarus Project was a program made specifically to reanimate you. To bring you back to life, so to speak, should the need arise. I was number ten of ten other experiments in this program. The purpose of those others was to experiment and test the techniques to verify the success rate of survival before they would be used on you. I was the only one who lived through the entire reanimation process. The program had then used what they learned from me to rebuild you. The group that had been so insistent in bringing you back- this whole thing, all of it - is funded and controlled by Cerberus."

"I know that name," said Shepard, shifting slightly as she folded her arms across her armored chest. "I think I ran into Cerberus a few times while I was investigating Saren. Aren't they some kind of pro-human splinter group?"

"Well that's what the Alliance wants people to believe. There's more to it than that."

"No, that's pretty much it," I said with laugh, ignoring the annoyed look Jacob threw me. Shepard glanced at me then, a brow quirked in question. "There's mainly more to the people who work for Cerberus. Like Jake here, the people who work for the group are doing so for their own various and idealistic reasons. They want change for the betterment of humankind. Cerberus is the only group in the galaxy that has shown they take action so far." I gestured toward her and waved my hand over her as if trying to show her some invisible aura. "You were declared dead by the Alliance. They pegged you as a heroine and gave you some awards. That's all the action they took. They did not heed your warnings about the threat our galaxy was facing and swept it all under the rug. You were the only one who had made such a dramatic change for the human race in the Council's eyes and Cerberus felt that you would be the only one who could continue making a difference. They had spent an unknown amount of credits to bring you back and for what exact reason they did not make clear. To be frank, you have every right to be suspicious."

"Look, it was better that you knew what's what," said Jacob as he started to walk and moved around Shepard and I. "I'd be suspicious myself but right now, we need to work together to get out of here. Once we get off this station, we'll take you to the Illusive Man. He'll explain everything. I promise."

"I don't care what they did or what you say," said Shepard, the frown growing fierce on her face. "I am not going to work with terrorists." She turned then and started moving quickly away from us, her anger quite clear.

"You can tell that to the boss," said Jacob as we followed after her, "but after we save our butts. We're almost at the shuttle."

I followed closely behind Shepard, that clutching feeling in my chest again. I was worried that she wasn't going to want anything to do with me since I had been a part of everything so far. Miranda had always been clear I had the choice to walk away but I stayed. For her, for Shepard, for Joker. These people were all I had left to remind of the people I had loved in my earlier life. I might have been a fool to expect that I would be welcomed as such from people who were perfect strangers. Miranda had been different because she had known all about me before I had even come to take my first breath. Joker was just finally accepting me as a relative of his and that had taken nearly a year of constant association. With Shepard, who knew what I would get? For all I knew, she would kick me to the curb the moment she could.

I would still follow after her though. She was Alice's niece and my ex-husband's baby. I just wouldn't be able to leave her...

Not another word was said as we made our way down a corridor, up a flight of steps, and onto a platform that led through a cargo bay toward Docking Station 2. We had to take down some mechs along the way but with the four of us there was little trouble. We finally reached door that led to the shuttles and Wilson ran ahead of us, his urgency quite clear. He made it to the holographic keyboard and entered a few keys. "C'mon, through here. We're almost at the-" The door swished open and an unexpected sight greeted us. It was certainly not what Wilson had expected.

"Miranda! But, you were-" His voice was cut off as Miranda lifted her pistol and fired a clean shot straight to his throat. He let out a gurgle before falling to a heap on the floor.

"Dead?" she asked, lowering her pistol as she scowled down at the bleeding body of the former Chief Medical Officer.

"What the hell are you doing?" asked Jacob, running toward Wilson's slumped form.

Miranda ignored him and turned straight to me. She holstered her pistol and moved over to me in several quick steps. Soon enough, I was wrapped up in a hug tight enough to make it hard to breathe. I gasped for breath as I returned the hug. "I-I'm happy t-to see you alive too, Randa."

She pulled away from me and slapped a heavy hand against my upper arm. "Don't you ever scare me like that again! What were you thinking going off on your own like that? You could've gotten yourself hurt or killed! You aren't fully trained to handle a situation like this! If you ever disregard my orders again-"

"I'm all right Randa," I said with a smile, rubbing the sore spot on my arm. "I managed it through on my own to Shepard and lived to tell the tale. I take it Wilson was definitely our rat?"

Miranda had taken in a calming breath once she had gotten the worry and anger out of her system. She looked down at Wilson's body before allowing a look of disgust to touch her beautiful features. "He betrayed us all."

"Even if you're sure, did he deserve that welcome?" asked Shepard, who looked crossed between amused and confused. She looked as if wasn't sure what to make of the scene between Randa and me but she decided to let it go. Instead, she focused her attention on something that she knew and was familiar with- the death of the man on the floor.

"He sabotaged the security systems, killed my staff, and would have killed us."

"Bald prick," I muttered as I folded my arms beneath my breasts and let loose a heavy breath. "Bastard was trying to put the blame on you."

"Are you sure about this Miranda?" asked Jacob. Goddess bless him, he had such a good heart. Always willing to see the good in everyone. "We've known Wilson for years. What if you're wrong?"

"I'm never wrong," said Randa in reply, the look on her face getting that telltale smugness. It was the only thing I truly disliked about her. Yet, she wouldn't be Miranda without it. "I thought you'd have learned that by now Jacob."

"In other words Jake," I said, grabbing his attention from gazing at Wilson. "Randa had been keeping tabs on Wilson, watching his every move, trying to find the proof of his turncoat ways." I let out a snort and shook my head. "He must have covered his tracks really well if you couldn't find anything to stick on him."

"He was good. He had managed to pull this off before I could prevent it. He made a big mistake when he hacked the system himself though."

"While this has been fun," said Shepard as she put her pistol away. "What's our next step?"

"We get on the shuttle and go," said Randa as she turned her gaze to Shepard. "My boss wants to speak to you."

"You mean the Illusive Man?" Shepard asked, the frown was coming back to her face. "I know you work for Cerberus."

"Estella..."

Randa turned her attention to me and I held up my hands in surrender. "I didn't say anything about the Illusive Man. I didn't even know that was what he was called. You always called him the boss around me. However, I did tell her about Cerberus and the project. You knew I was going to at any rate. I'm not keeping any secrets from her. Lying to her isn't going to do anyone any favors."

Randa gave a heavy sigh as she nodded. "I know El, I know... I wouldn't ask you to either." She reached up a gloved hand to rub her forehead. "Well, since we're getting everything out in the open," she said, casting a glare at Jacob as she said this. He didn't look the least bit ashamed for having divulged the name of the boss and I was happy about that. Shepard needed honest people around her if she was going to succeed. "Is there anything you want to ask before we go, Commander?"

Shepard allowed the tension to ease itself from her shoulders as she sighed. "I've had enough of this station to last me a lifetime," she said.

"Or two in your case," said Randa before she turned on her heel toward the docking station. "Come on..."


	7. Six

Chapter 6

As the shuttle we had boarded began its journey toward the Minuteman Station, where a good chunk of Cerebus' operatives were based, I found myself feeling slightly numb. The research station had been the place I had been "born again" and yet nearly everything and everyone within it had been destroyed. It seemed with Shepard now up and about, the station had no further use.

What perfect timing to kill everyone Wilson...

I had found myself in a seat beside the commander with Randa across from me and Jacob diagonally. I was staring out the only window in the shuttle compartment, trying to come to grips with all that had happened. I could hear the others talking. Randa was doing one of her infamous tests and making sure that Shepard's personality and memories were intact. She had done a similar test to me when I had woken up. However, mine had been a little more difficult. Before the box that activated my now wealthy status and gave me back my dad's old ring, all she had to go based on were some archives that were held in her family records and some old videos that had been recorded of me. Old home movies from various moments in my life just before I had gotten sick. They had been converted to a newer format as time went by and were available as a matter of public record among trillions of other such vids. Available for research and study in the life of a random human woman at the turn of the 21st century...

The time passed as the shuttle made its way to the Minuteman Station; their voices were like background noise to me. All I could hear was the sound of my own steady heartbeat. I was so dazed I didn't realize that someone was calling my name. I blinked and looked at the others, my eyes focusing on Jacob since it was his voice that finally registered with my thoughts. "I'm sorry, did you say something?"

"Are you OK, El?" he asked, the look on his face was one of slight worry. "You've been a little quiet... This was all a bit much for you, wasn't it?"

I could only nod as my emotions began to get the better of me. "It's one thing to train for it... but to experience it is a whole different matter."

"You did well," said Shepard and I glanced at her in surprise. "For your first real combat, you have a natural instinct in looking out for your teammates. That's a big help." She had actually smiled at me and I couldn't help the happiness that welled up in me. "With more training and experience, you'll be fine."

"If she ever learns to follow orders," said Randa, throwing in her two cents but she was smiling at me when I turned my glare her way.

"I'll take your word for it," was all I said in response to Shepard as I looked back out the window. The station was nearing. I couldn't wait to take a long, warm shower...

-o-

Showers were wonderful things.

The water falling over you, massaging each milometer of skin. Washing away the dirt, the grime, the sweat, and the tears. I was in the shower for well over an hour before I felt clean enough. I had gotten out, dried myself off, and went into my room. I had gotten dressed in a pair of comfortable flared black jeans and a sleeveless red blouse with a low neckline. It had taken a lot of pleading to Randa, a lot of strings to pull, but she had managed to find a company that specialized in making vintage, turn-of the-21st century clothing. They knew how to make clothes from my time period. She had ordered some clothing for me since price was no longer an issue. I had been so ecstatic when she had surprised me with my new wardrobe; I had nearly knocked her over in my haste to hug her. The smile on her face had been a fond one.

To have clothes I was used to made a huge difference in during my stay at the station. I was comfortable in jeans and in a blouse. The fashion in this new time was not something I felt comfortable in. No matter how well-adjusted and supportive the clothes were to your form, my form was not meant to look decent in those clothes. Everyone seemed to be on the slender or skinny side of the scale. Unless you were of a particular alien descent where bulk was your default, the majority of the people in this time were slender to a degree so the fashion keyed in toward that mass.

I was on the thick side for a human female. That was how I had died and how I was frozen. Fat cells didn't go away if you had no way to work it off. I was, more or less, in the same shape I was before the car accident despite, the corrective procedures used on me during the reanimation process.

I was thick.

Not slender. Not pleasantly curvy.

Thick.

Despite my training with Randa over the past year, the most I had lost was about fifteen pounds. I would feel I was genetically dispositioned to keep that thickness despite the exercise and dieting. It must have been a hereditary advantage at the time for my lineage and it was something that had carried on. In fact, I was actually considered thin for an average woman of my age and ethnicity in my time frame. I did not have a problem with it. I was in good health at the time before I had gotten sick.

170 years later, I was having a problem.

People were staring.

They were staring at me as an oddity, as if I were a new kind of alien they had not come across before. I had even had a few people question me if I was human. That was the last straw. If people were going to stare at me and question me, I'd rather it be in something I felt comfortable in. At least if they looked at me they would assume I was some crazy fanatic of the early 21st century. They would think I had deliberately put on the weight and it made it less awkward. Sure, they thought I was crazy but I could deal with that. So, I had clothing that consisted of a majority of jeans, some khaki capris, and a variety of t-shirts and blouses. Aside from the footwear of this time, I looked like a living, breathing relic of the 2010's.

And I was happy with it.

It was a rare time when you would find me in clothing from this time and it was only during an emergency. Like during the mech attack on the research station. I had been in a skin-tight, black and white jumpsuit of Cerberus issue with accompanying armor. It had been because of the situation at hand but now that I was back on the Minuteman Station, where I had lived the last 6 months, I was going to be comfortable. Who would have thought going with Randa on a joy ride to visit Shepard would have turned into a fight for my life?

After the shower and dressing quickly, I made my way from my room, through the corridors that led from the staff wing, and back toward the docking station where I was sure the others were. There was going to be a mission lined up, one that I was not going to be a part of, but one in which Randa would be. I wanted to say my goodbyes and wish them luck. I had more training to get in and more studying to do for my medical exams. Working as an intern for Dr. Chakwas had been interesting to say the least.

The moment I arrived in the docking area, I caught sight of Shepard speaking with Randa by one of the computer terminals. As I was nearing, I could hear the tension in Randa's voice as she turned back to the console in front of her. "...got an assignment. We can talk about it or we can do it."

"Is everything OK?" I asked as I drew up close to them and looked at the both of them. Randa looked at me, the frustration clear on her face, before her gaze moved over my outfit. The frustration had given way to mirth as a smile touched her lips. She had always found my taste in clothing amusing. Well, she could go fuck herself. I was comfortable.

"We were just discussing a few things," she said as she looked back at the computer screen and continued to type. "How are you feeling, El?"

"Better," I said, folding my arms beneath my breasts. "A shower is a therapeutic and much needed experience."

"What are you wearing?" was the first question Shepard directed my way. I glanced at her and I could see the confusion on her face as she looked at my black jeans and red blouse. Apparently, she had never come across 2015 style of clothing before. At least not my taste in clothing from that time, which was based loosely from the Flower Child period of the 1960's.

"Something comfortable," I said in reply as I allowed a smile to touch my lips. "I may have been brought back to life in 2184 but mentally I am still in 2015. I go with what I know well."

"You did mention that you were part of the Lazarus Project," she said, her eyes taking on a spark of curiosity. "Did you have some time to talk? We have a few moments before we get dispatched on a mission."

I glanced at Randa, who looked at me and gave a smile but said nothing in response. This was clearly all me. Shepard was curious about me and I was sure as hell curious about her. Now was as good a time as any.

"I do," I said and beckoned her to follow me toward one of the rows of seats that lined the docking station. It was far away enough from prying ears but still within visual sight of Randa, who liked to keep a close eye on me.

Shepard followed after me as I went to take a seat closest to the window that overlooked the nearby star and planet the station was orbiting. I heard her sit down in the seat right beside me and I looked at her with a welcome smile. "So, what's on your mind?"

"A lot," she said in reply, the look in her eyes were thoughtful before she focused her gaze on mine. "I'm curious about you though, Moreno. You're strange but you've been honest with me from the moment I met you." She took in a breath and shifted slightly in her seat, her armor creaking from the movement. "You said you were one of ten experiments in the Lazarus Project that had been used to test the reanimation process. You were only one to survive." She hesitated a moment before she looked out the window and continued on. "You walk, talk, and act like a woman completely out-of-place. Hell, you even dress the part. I have little doubt you are who you say you are. I have so many questions for you but the only one that comes to mind is... Well... Why did you call me your niece back there?" She turned her eyes back toward me. I could see the disbelief but I could also see a hint of hope. Was she hoping that she had a living family member? Oh goddess...

I took in breath and reached out to take her gloved hand in my own. She didn't pull away from my touch and I was thankful. She trusted me enough to allow the physical contact. "The goddess willing... It was just a series of events of knowing the right people at the right time. It set the universe in just a way where it brought about a number of actions that ensured that I would be able to sit here and speak with you myself." I sighed and shook my head. "I call you my niece out of respect. Had things gone the way I had planned and dreamed, you would have been _my_ descendant instead..."

So, I had given her a brief explanation about who I was, when I had been born, when I had died, and the circumstances to which brought me here before her. She listened intently and, though I knew she doubted my words, she was still willing to listen. I gave her access to my records from the data on my omni-tool. I had advised her to not take my word alone for it and research everything herself. It was there. I had nothing to hide.

Shepard had sighed at the end of it and gave a nod. "You gave me a lot to think about." She swallowed and looked away. "I'll check it out on my downtime but... I do want you to know I trust you. More than anyone here so far." She glanced at me then and allowed a small smile to show. "You were there for me the moment I opened my eyes. You looked out for me, watched my back, and had been honest and open with me the entire way. That means a lot. I need people I trust by my side and you are someone I feel I can trust. If things check out as you say, given time... I think it will be nice to know I have a family member to call my own."

I let out a soft laugh and gave a nod in agreement. "I'll look forward to that day."

Shepard smiled before she glanced over at Miranda, who was speaking with Jacob. They were looking to get ready; their weapons were getting a checkup. She looked at me, her eyes studying me as she reached up to brush away a lock of short, auburn hair from her eyes. "Are you coming with us to Freedom's Progress? I could use you to watch my back."

I smiled at this and shook my head. "It was a fluke that I was there on the station when that hell had broken loose. I'm not one to play soldier. Though I have training for those emergency situations, my experience leans toward patching the soldiers up in between the battles." I gave her hand a squeeze before I let it go. "I'll be here brushing up on some studying and training. When the medical bay needs some help to patch you up, I'll be sure to get you and your team taken care of."

She started to laugh and then she nodded. "Sounds fair. But one way or another, I'm going to get you more field training. I'll have you out there by my side soon enough."

"I'll... try to look forward to that," I said with a laugh as we both stood up and smiled at each other.

It was a start for the both of us but it was looking to be a very good start.

-o-

Training and studying resumed for me and I was soon buried in page after page of medical data. Time was funny on a space station, especially when you were hopping from one system to another. I was just beginning to get used to not worrying about pacific, mountain, central or eastern time zones. Now, it was simply a universal clock that was used for all stations and ships, which was normally a 24 hour Earth period. When you were on a planet, then you would adjust yourself to the time frame of that place. It was too much for me to focus on and instead I adjusted my internal clock as needed.

At this time, it had been over four days since I said goodbye to Randa and Shepard before they headed on their new mission to investigate a colony that had its inhabitants go missing. While I am sure very little time had passed for them while traveling, the hours on this station dragged by. During that time, I was familiarizing myself with my most recent study log about Turian anatomy. It was my current field of study once I had conquered asari, quarian, drell and salarian anatomy and medical care. I had not broached the subject of krogan anatomy yet due the sheer volume of research it consisted. I have to say, aliens had brought the medical field into a whole new ball game. My respect for the doctors that handled these people had grown to the point of awe. Needless to say, I was very humbled by the fact that Dr. Karin Chakwas had taken me under her wing and was teaching me all she knew.

I was so focused on my studies it was a surprise when I was notified of a guest at my door by the synthesized voice of the computer that kept an eye on me. I called out to whomever that the door was open. I was hardly ever bothered by anyone outside of those who knew me. My only frequent guests were Randa, Jake, Joker, or my mentor, so it was little surprise when I heard the doctor's familiar voice once the door to my room opened.

"Busy studying?" Dr. Chakwas asked as she walked in, a pleased smile on her face. "It's always good to see you so focused."

"Hey there Dr. Hacksaw," I said, my eyes focused on the text before me. I was reading on a particular paragraph that went over a particular part of a male Turian's anatomy. I waved at her sit to down in the empty chair by my desk as I cast a glance her way before looking back at my screen. "What brings you around so soon? I thought you weren't testing me for another month."

The doctor didn't even bat an eyelash at my butchering her name and simply sat down in the chair across from me. "You're right, I'm not. However, there's been a change in plans and we're going to need you fit for duty."

This time I did focus my attention on her, my gaze flicking to hers, as I turned slightly away from the screen. "I thought I was only here for back up."

That had been the plan. I would stay safe and sound on the station while the doctor manned the medical bay of the new ship. There weren't going to be many people on Shepard's team and those that were would be more experienced than me. I wouldn't be on the ship; I knew the risk I caused from my lack of experience. I would be more of a hindrance, not an aid. Randa and I had talked about it and we felt it best that I stay out of harm's way and be there to help when absolutely needed.

"Apparently, Commander Shepard is adamant in keeping you on hand with the rest of us. When Miranda had argued against it Shepard had told her, and I quote, 'I need people I trust on my team. Moreno earned that trust the moment she helped me. She stays.'" There was such a pleased smile on her face. I had no idea the doctor could even smile like that. "So, Miranda had made it clear you would be continuing your studies on board the new ship but with on field experience to add under your belt. That is why I am here. The Commander will be expecting you on board with the rest of us."

"I... but..." I couldn't think of a single thing to say. I was so dumbfounded by all that she had said. Shepard really wanted me with her? Did she really believe me? It was more than I ever could have dreamed. I'm sure she didn't believe everything but she trusted me enough. That was all I had hoped for. I looked at the doctor and shook my head. "What do I do?"

"I was going to suggest you get your things together but Joker had asked me to tell you to meet him at the docking station. I'm here to help get your things in order while you do that."

I couldn't help the excited smile that appeared on my face as I practically jumped up from my chair. "Joker's here? Seriously?" I was about to run out the door when my manners got the best of me and I turned around to look at the doctor. "Are you sure? I don't have much but I don't want to inconvenience you..."

Dr. Chakwas laughed as she got up from her chair and waved me off. "Go and meet your nephew. I'll have some of your clothes packed for you and I'll meet you on the ship."

I couldn't help the squeal that escaped me as I ran over to the doctor and wrapped her up in a tight hug. "You're the best doctor ever!" I said as I squeezed her before pulling away from her and running out the door. I could hear her laughing behind me and I couldn't help the smile that touched my lips. I swear that woman was too sweet for her own good.

-o-

I was out of breath by the time I made it to the docking station, having run the entire way. I must have looked like a lunatic but I didn't care. My nephew was here. I had stopped about halfway into the large area, my eyes scanning the rows of empty seats and computer terminals, before I caught sight of him standing beside the armored form of Commander Shepard. They were standing by one of the windows that looked out over the docking bays.

He was talking to Shepard, a familiarity that struck a case of nostalgia with me. Here were two descendants of two of my family members. I think that even if I wasn't here to witness it myself, they would have still been standing here side by side. A testament to a friendship that went deeper than anything.

I could hear Joker as he spoke to Shepard, his capped head shaking once. "I don't trust anyone who makes more than I do. But they aren't all that bad. Saved your life, let me fly-"

I was practically feeling giddy by this time and let out a whoop and holler, waving frantically to the man who meant everything to me in blood and family. "Baby nephew!"

He turned his head at the sound of my voice and a bright smile touched his bearded lips the moment he caught sight of me. "...aannd brought back a member of my family I couldn't imagine being without," he said to Shepard before he turned to face me and held out his arms in welcome. "Hey, ya old hag! I was wondering when you'd show up!"

I laughed and didn't hesitate to rush over to him. The moment his arms were around me, I smothered his bearded cheek with kisses and nuzzled the hell out of him. Due to his disease, I was never one to instigate the hugs; however I sure as hell could smother him with all of the familial kisses I wanted. It had been a long road to get to this point, to make him see that I was not going anywhere, to have him finally trust me. The day when he had first opened his arms to me for a hug, I had broken down crying in disbelief and gratitude. That had been two months ago and I savored each and every hug he offered me.

"Wait a minute," said Shepard, the tone of her voice bordering in disbelief and amusement. "You mean you two are actually related?"

Joker pulled away from me but kept an arm around my shoulders as he gave the Commander a bright smile. "Commander, meet my great-aunt Estella. She's 200 years old but don't let her age fool you. She can still move well enough for an old fossil. The doc's been training her this past year. She's aced her EMT exams already so she can help the doc out with whatever. She'll make a great part of the team."

"I know who she is," said Shepard, a smile touching her lips as she focused her blue-gray eyes on me. "We met on the research station. She had watched my back in a situation where I had no idea what the hell was going on." She shifted her feet as she crossed her arms across her breasts. "So, a great-aunt huh?"

I was blushing slightly by this time but gave a nod in answer to the question. "Like I said before, it's too long of a story to get into. I gave you the highlights before you left, especially about my relationship with your ancestors. Je-fah-fah here is an actual descendant of mine. His bloodline can be traced all the way back to the loins of my little brother. A scary thought but one I am thankful to know."

Shepard blinked once and then twice, a stunned look on her face as she studied me. "Je-fah-fah?" She looked at Joker then, who simply rolled his eyes and shook his head. Apparently, that was the only part of my conversation that had come through as weird.

"He has an unneeded F in his name," I said by way of explanation and moved my hip to gently bump against his. He laughed and bumped me right back before pulling me in for a closer hug.

Shepard had watched our exchange and then a smile touched her lips. "I'm glad I won't be separating you two then. We'll need all the humor we can for this mission. Having you two aboard should make things interesting." There it was. I could see it in her eyes. She was hoping for something good to happen with us together. Oh boy, was she gonna be in for a treat.

Joker must have thought along the same lines because he had glanced at me and gave such a mischievous smile, his several times great-grandfather would have been proud. "Well, since the Commander is all for it, why don't we show her the ship?"


	8. Seven

Chapter 7

I could only stare in surprise as I looked at what surrounded me.

It was small.

It was cramped.

There were no windows. A single fluorescent light in the ceiling gave the only illumination and only a single ventilation duct in the upper right corner of the room recycled the air. It was essentially a janitor's closet. There was hardly room for a cot, a locker and a desk. However, that was what got me so excited. There was hardly any room for anything or anyone else.

"I know this isn't much," said Dr. Chakwas as she stood just outside the door to the room. "However, I will need you close in case of an emergency and this was the best they could do on short notice."

"This is mine?" I asked, my smile growing as I looked around the small room that was to be my new home for who knew how long. I looked at the doctor and went toward her to grab her hands. "You're not kidding, right? I have this all to myself? No crew quarters?"

"You'll have to share the ladies' bathroom," said the doctor as she started to laugh at my enthusiasm. "But yes, you will be alone in here. I am right beside you in the next room. My own room is not much bigger so you don't need to feel bad. Outside of the captain's quarters, they don't always think much for comfort when building these things but it is efficient to be right outside the medical bay."

"I don't care," I said with a smile as I released her hands and turned quickly to sit down on my tiny bed. "This is all mine. Me. By myself. No annoying snores. No sleep talking. No terrible foot odor. Just me. I'm happy."

The doctor started laughing outright at this point. She looked so happy. I think she was glad to finally be back in an environment in which she thrived. The Normandy had been home for her and being back again must have been a balm for her. Sure, it was not the original ship, but there were a couple of familiar faces she knew. I was glad I was among those new faces she liked well enough.

"Well, get comfortable and then change into your uniform. You are officially on duty as member of my medical team."

"Yes ma'am," I said as I got to my feet and offered her a proper military salute. She could only laugh even more at that before she turned and left my tiny room, the door swishing closed behind her. The moment she was gone, I looked around the room once more before I went over to the locker to pull out my uniform. Some of my personal clothing had already been placed inside but I pushed those aside to grab the out-of-place ensemble. It was similar to the doc's outfit, a black and white affair with a high collar, long sleeves, a hem line that ended to about mid-thigh, and matching black gloves. The black pants were form fitting and the black boots were standard issued. It looked great on the doc. On me though...

I nearly groaned at the thought but went on getting dressed.

I was going to be getting those looks again...

-o-

The Medical Bay on the Normandy SR-2 was like an on-the-go hospital.

It had everything state-of-the-art from surgical equipment, medication and supplies for treatment of nearly every known species, to comfortable gurneys and beds. The moment I walked into the room my eyes darted to the washing station to the right, to the equipment and beds on the far side of the room. The fluorescent lights from above gave the Medical Bay the feel of a surgical room but not anything that made it too uncomfortable. There were windows that lined the left hand side of the room; it looked out into the mess hall, the kitchen area, and the stairwell that led to the cryogenic pods that lined the corridor that led to the main battery. In front of the windows was a very long desk that gave enough room for two people to work comfortably.

Dr. Chakwas was sitting on the right hand side of the desk, looking over a data pad and occasionally moving over to type something on her console. The moment she heard my footsteps, she turned around and set her pad aside. "Ah, Moreno! Always timel-" She cut off the moment she caught sight of me and her gray eyes flicked over me before focusing on mine. "Ah- Dear... Have you always been so naturally- er- well endowed?" She caught the frown on my face and she hastily threw up her hands in a gesture of peace. "My apologies, I meant no offense. It's just that... I- I had only ever seen you in your civilian clothing and they hide much..." She hesitated, looking as if she were trying to find the words. She cleared her throat and offered a sheepish smile. "And I don't recall any of the uniforms giving that much lift..." She quirked an eyebrow when I turned to walk to the only available seat. "Or giving _that_ much support..."

I took a seat in the chair beside hers and groaned as I slumped down, trying to hide as best I could. I had caught her gaze lingering on my behind and I knew it was bad. "I warned you doctor. My body was not meant for these clothes. I can't believe I'm saying this but I miss the good ol' days when scrubs were non-flattering and bland. Just plain old pants and a shirt of thin, rough material that hid everything _and_ anything."

Dr. Chakwas started to laugh at that and she leaned over to give my thigh a pat. "Oh, you don't look bad Moreno. You just caught me by surprise. Stop slouching. There's no shame in being a shapely woman. Granted, there are not many shapely women around these days with better healthcare and food as in compared to your time but... there are certain people... Well, let's just say you will not want for company should you wish it. So buck up and let's get started on your new training."

"Oh geez, Hacksaw, really?" I said with an embarrassed smile, a startled giggle escaping me as I sat up a little straighter. Surprisingly, I did feel better. The woman had a knack for it. "Thanks for the pep talk."

"My pleasure," she said before she turned in her seat to grab her data pad. "Now, last we left off we were going over the respiratory system of turians..."

-o-

Studying for my nursing exams were but one of my normal routines. The fact that it was now on a state-of-the-art space ship made it a slightly difference experience. Dr. Chakwas was working me a little harder than usual. It seemed being a part of the Normandy crew was going to be an interesting experience to add under my belt. It was a guarantee that I would be helping to heal people of the non-human variety just based on Shepard's record. The doc was doing a severe rehash on all I had worked on the past year but, the goddess willing; I had retained all I had learned and then some. She was pleased with the results and was confident I would fare just fine here in the medical bay.

That didn't stop my doubts though and I kept on studying even when she was done with me and told me to take a break. I had ignored her and continued on studying my turian medical pages. She had told me twice again before finally giving up and resuming whatever work she had done before I had shown up. In all honesty, I was anxious to prove myself. Getting everything just right in regards to the health and care of this crew was essential. I couldn't afford to make a mistake. Taking a break at this point felt like a potential malpractice in the making to me.

Still, I was excited at the prospect of seeing new worlds and actually meeting the species of people I had studied about. It was going to be a new adventure in the chapter of my new life. I wasn't going to waste it by being inept at the job that I had been given...

The hours had passed since the Normandy had taken off from the station. I have to say, this ship was definitely state-of-the-art. The ride had been so smooth and there was very little noise. It didn't feel as if we were in a ship at all and that's saying something. I continued on studying while the doc worked on whatever charts she had handy. Once in a while, she would ask me a random question about one of the topics we had covered and I would respond in turn with little hesitation, the answer being what she was looking for. I had not noticed the surprised and slightly curious glances she had given me at those times at first but when I did, she would simply smile and go back to work.

It was some time after that Commander Shepard had found her way into our cozy little area of the ship. I knew that she was taking a tour of her new ship. In all honesty, I didn't blame her. If I had the free time, I would be going up and down all over this ship to see what it had to offer. I was a curious woman by nature and technology was one of my most favorite things. It was like showing any other woman a beautiful piece of jewelry. For me, you show me a piece of the latest technology and I would be like putty in your hands. I did not have the flare for knowing how the stuff worked on the inside but I loved to play with it and figure out how it worked on my own. Shoot, the moment Randa had first given me my omni-tool I had been locked in my room for days just playing with every feature the thing had to offer.

As expected, Shepard's eyes had danced around the medical bay, taking in everything at once, before her gaze had settled on Dr. Chakwas and me sitting at our stations in front of the long desk. She glanced at me with a smile before she focused her gaze on the other woman. "Hey Doc!"

Dr. Chakwas had turned her chair to face Shepard, a welcome and bright smile on her face. "Hello Commander, it is good to see you."

Shepard had walked further into the room and stopped right beside my chair, her gaze still on the doctor. "Likewise," she said, her smile growing warm. "It is nice to see another familiar face on board." She focused her gaze on me and, to my surprise, her smile stayed warm. "How goes your studying Moreno?"

"Filled to the brim with data and more data," I said in reply, my smile filled with general affection as I set my pad aside. "It's a lot of info to take in but I'm managing."

"She hasn't taken a break since we boarded the ship," said Dr. Chakwas said, turning around in her chair to focus her attention back on her computer. "I advised her to go for a walk around the ship, get the blood flow back in her legs. She refused to listen."

A slight frown touched my features as I looked at the doc, knowing the game she was playing.

Really, Hacksaw? Really?

"Oh, is that so?" said Shepard, her gaze focusing back on me as her blue-gray eyes sparkled with mischief. I knew that look. I knew that look better than anyone alive today. That was the same look Alice would get in her eyes when she was planning something that meant a lot of bullshit for me. My alarm bells began to sound off in my head as it had in those long ago days. Whatever she was planning, it meant something that was not going to be a good experience for me.

"No," I said, not even acknowledging whatever she was thinking. I turned my chair away from her and picked up my data pad, focusing back on my studies.

"I didn't say anything," said Shepard from behind me, though I could feel her gaze on me.

"You don't need to," I said in reply as I continued moving over the files on my pad, looking for something else to occupy thoughts. I had had enough of turian anatomy now. I think the krogans were looking mighty appealing...

I continued moving through my files but the silence wore on. I finally sighed, set my pad aside, and turned around to face her. "I know that look. Alice always had that look on her face just before she would talk me into something stupid that I didn't want to do. It didn't matter how much I protested or complained. For some oddball reason, she would always find a way to string me along on one of her inane plans. I think it was the guilt trips. It had to be the guilt trips."

I clasped my hands in front of me before I brought them against my right cheek, putting on a puppy dog look that would have made Joker laugh his ass off, while my voice took on a higher octave. "'C'mon El, let's try that roller-coaster! It'll be lots of fun! Please? Oh, c'mon, don't you love me?' Or it was, 'Estella! There's a wet t-shirt contest at the bar tonight! Let's try it! Please, El? Pretty please? If you were my best sister you would try it with me!" I dropped my hands and frowned, pointing a finger at her as I shook my head. "It always, always, ended up with me being in some embarrassing situation that I could not live down for weeks." I turned away from her and went to type on my console, bringing up my recent studies. "170 years later, not much has changed. The answer is still no."

I did not see Shepard's face at that moment. If I had I would have seen the surprise, the sadness, and the slight smile on her face. I did hear her steps as she moved closer behind me and reached out to shut off my console. I frowned as I looked at her, my eyes throwing daggers at her. If only looks could harm...

"Well," she began, that smile was on her face. That horrible smile Alice always used to wear just before I would regret ever having going along with her. "Seeing as I am the Commander of this vessel, anything I say must be acted upon by my crew. And since you are now a part of my crew, as your Commander, I am telling you now: Ms. Moreno, you are going to need to suit up. We have a mission on Omega and you are coming along with us. Whether you like it or not."

I blinked once and then twice, my gaze flicking between hers, before I let out a huff and slumped in my chair. "Fuck me..."

-o-

Seriously, the universe was having a laugh at my expense.

The goddess had allowed me to come back to this plane of existence simply to laugh at me. There was no other reason for it.

I was standing here, dressed in my med tech's uniform with a few additions in regards to armor, gaping like a fish out of water. Apparently, Shepard hadn't thought too much ahead in regards to my joining her party. Randa was with us of course and laughing her ass off in that very soft, choking way that never allowed a person to breathe. I would get her later for this. Of course, she had every reason to laugh. I was out of place no matter where we went. I was going to get attention, be it the negative or positive, who the hell knew? But attention being brought on my person was the most likely to happen regardless. Oh how right I was...

I was in the basic armor I had when Shepard and I had first met back on the research station. Which meant it physically covered very little save for my immediate area, which was my torso, my arms, and my thighs. My breasts were not accounted for in this fact and a nice sized bump was on display thanks to the tight outfit. The shields on my armor were divine, the very same that Randa used so she could show off that genetically perfect body of hers. I had the armor just in case the obvious situation would present itself in regards to combat and my shields would fail. The armor defended me well enough from basic shots to get the job done. Too bad the shields and armor didn't cover from vieweverything else that was on display. It was one of those situations that made me wonder if there was an all-powerful being that was writing my life in such a way to make me fall into these situations. No, seriously. If there was, I would shoot them in the face right now.

The reason for my clear frustration was from the moment we had arrived on Omega – which literally smelled like a pisshole – we were accosted by a less than notable gentleman of the salarian variety. He was an ill kept gentleman who was looking for an easy way in to whatever path he was trying to find on this rock. Queue the muscle: a batarian that smelled even worse than the salarian that he chased off, who greeted Shepard by name and advised us to head to a club called Afterlife. When Shepard had questioned how the batarian had known who she was, the male simply said she was not as subtle as she thought and had been tagged the moment she came into the Terminus systems. From there, he advised us to head the club, where the "leader" Aria would be awaiting us.

The smelly ass had gone on his merry way but not before Shepard's eye had caught a particular figure at the end of the corridor we were standing in. Shepard had recognized him from whatever dossier she had been given and immediately went over to him. Randa and I, being her ever faithful party members, followed after her. Her target was a human just from the look of him. He was beating up on some batarian with the accuracy of a street thug. The batarian had caught sight of Shepard and pleaded for her help before the human male kicked him.

"No one said you can talk jackass," was the voice that spoke at that moment. It was an accent that brought to my mind of a person growing up in some part of England. The "Queen's English" I believe was the term for the proper way of speaking, almost in the way the doc spoke, though I could be wrong. He spoke more from a working class dialect, a type of person who knew hard labor and wasn't afraid to get dirty to survive.

"You Zaeed Massani?" asked Shepard, catching the attention of the man before us.

He had raised his head, his hair closely cropped to the scalp and bearing some silver among the brown, before he turned to face us. "Yeah, that's me," he said in reply. Goddess, this was a man who had lived a hard life. He was an older human male compared to my physical appearance of thirty-one. He looked somewhere in his early to mid-fifties but who the hell could tell for sure. He could have been in his thirties or forties and it would be hard to tell. There were scars all over his face. A particularly nasty one that went around his right brow and ended just below his right cheekbone. Whatever wound that had been appeared to be the cause of the milky whiteness of his right eye. His left was the color of a soft brown. Alert and clear. Still something told me that, though he was blind in one eye, he could aim well enough.

His gaze had traveled over all of us, though it lingered slightly on me, before he looked back at Shepard. "You must be Commander Shepard. I hear we have a galaxy to save."

"I've assumed you've been briefed?" Shepard had asked, her blue-gray eyes studying the bounty hunter with interest.

Massani didn't even blink as he shifted slightly on his feet, taking a more relaxed stance. "I've done my homework. Cerberus sent me everything I needed to know," he said just before his gaze traveled over to me. "Although... not everything."

I had ignored it. It was a simple enough statement that could have pertained to anything he had spoken of. It was just coincidence that he had looked at me the moment he said it. At least, that was my hope.

"My contacts told me we were picking up one man, not two," said Shepard, focusing her gaze on the batarian that was still pleading for his life.

"Batarian delinquent," said Massani. "Pissed off someone rich enough to hire me to go after him. And for my bringing-him-in-alive rates even." The batarian continued to plead for his life but the man had turned right around and shoved his boot in the batarian's face. "I said shut it!"

"What's your relationship with Cererbus?" asked Shepard, the doubt and curiosity could be heard in her tone.

"Easy," said Massani, taking a step forward to Shepard, though his gaze had quickly flicked to me with interest. "Cerberus is paying me a lot of money to help you on your mission. That's the long and short." He had paused slightly, his gaze lingering on me with even more interest the moment he had gotten closer to Shepard and, by default, closer to me. I couldn't stop the shiver of unpleasantness that ran through me. The man was eying me like a piece of meat freshly cut from the deli.

"Not many mercs would take a suicide mission for the pay."

"Most mercs don't get an offer like the one Cerberus sent me," he had said as he took a step away and focused his attention on the batarian. "This mission doesn't sound like good business but... your Illusive Man can move a lot of credits."

Shepard had taken a step forward then, reaching out a hand to shake the merc's. "Good to have you Zaeed." The man had reached out and shook her hand in turn. "We have a lot to do."

"That's what they tell me," said Massani as he pulled out his gun and looked at his prisoner. "I assume the Illusive Man had told you about our arrangement?"

Of course, this started a completely different conversation where it turned out that Cerberus had agreed to help the merc on a mission he had before had. Apparently, Massani was given the task of taking out the head of a group called the Blue Suns. Apparently, this leader had taken control of some group of people where he was using them as his own slave labor. Massani had to take them out and was told he would get the help by Cerberus. Without telling Shepard...

I swear, at that moment, I had brought my palm to my face and slapped it hard in annoyance. The noise had caught the merc's attention and it was that moment his prisoner had tried to make a break for it. The batarian barely made it several steps before he was shot down by the merc. I was right; he had great aim for being blind in one eye.

"I better get this thing in before it starts to stink," he had said, walking past us with barely a glance. "I'll be locked and loaded next time you're ready to get some killin' done." I had thought that was all he would say. I had thought that I had been imagining the interested looks he had given me.

I was dead wrong.

It was at that point the merc had turned his attention to me and allowed a smile to touch that weathered face of his. "By the way sweetheart, gotta say. Haven't seen a woman shaped like you are in nearly 25 years. Just enough cushion... Goddam'..." He had ignored the blush that must have been on my cheeks, and the gaping of my mouth, since he turned right around and continued on walking to the now dead prisoner. "This mission may have more perks than I thought..."

The universe was laughing at me at that moment. The goddess was rolling on her celestial floor and barely breathing.

I know that Randa was right now.

She was holding onto her sides and laughing so hard she had tears coming down her eyes. Shepard was a little more dignified about the whole thing but she was still fighting a smile.

I hated them both so much right now...

Well, I had to look on the bright side. It couldn't get any worse than this...

-o-

No.

I was wrong.

It had gotten worse.

Miranda Lawson, my friend and trainer, for whatever reason, had suddenly declared she had received an important message and there was something she needed to attend to at that very moment that could not wait. She had looked at Shepard then and asked if she would mind if she sent along a replacement party member. There was something in the look that passed between them because Shepard had smiled and given a nod in agreement. Before I could even get in a word edgewise, Randa was off on her merry back to the ship and the Commander and I were standing in the smelly corridor waiting for Randa's replacement.

"I'm going to get you back for this," I said as I looked at Shepard, not liking the amused smile on her lips.

"I don't know what you mean," she said, her smile growing a little wider the moment I turned my back on her and muttered under my breath.

It didn't take very long before a familiar voice grated on my ears and I cringed.

"Sweetheart, I haven't been gone an hour and you're already missing me?" Zaeed had come to a stop beside me, his gaze focusing on my behind before moving its way up to meet mine. I was frowning something fierce. He simply smirked before casting his gaze to Shepard. "Your other lady friend met me on the way to your ship. Said you wanted my help with recruiting these Archangel and Mordin fellas." His smirk had grown then as he focused his gaze back on me and settled himself into a relaxed stance. "I was wonderin' why the sudden change when I remembered this shapely sweetheart with you. Figured she wanted me on board so who am I to deny a beautiful woman?"

I stilled for a moment before I turned to look at the merc, my eyes blazing with indignation. "First off, the name is Moreno. Not sweetheart. Not beautiful. Don't look at my ass. Don't look at my breasts. Keep your hands to yourself and your eyes on any potential targets that mean to kill us. Do that and we'll get along just fine."

He had the nerve to smile even more at that but he did take a step back. "Got a temper. I like that in a woman..." He winked at me before he passed a glance at Shepard. "So, are we ready?"

"Ready when you are," said Shepard, passing a glance my way and looking as if she wanted to laugh so badly.

"Shepard, I'm always ready," said Zaeed. "Though from what I hear, sweetcheeks over here doesn't have much in the way of experience. This'll be a good run for her. I'll help her how I can."

I turned away from them and started walking down the corridor, following the thumping base of what could only be music from a local nightclub. I was groaning and wishing I had never left the ship by the time I heard this:

"Goddam'... That's a right sin... No offense Shepard but my eyes are gonna be focused on Moreno's backside from here on out. Nothing personal but gotta make sure nothing harms that sweet, juicy arse of hers."

Oh just shoot me...


	9. Eight

Chapter 8

_Afterlife _reminded me of one of those seedy gentleman's clubs in the bad part of a small town.

You know the one.

The one that everyone denied existed in their little slice of perfect suburban paradise and yet most of the male population - and some of the female - went there in the after hours to get a taste of the forbidden. It was tasteless - even nasty - but a necessary part of the town. Now, imagine that little seedy club being the town hall of an even _seedier_ town that offered all of that and then some.

_Afterlife_ was the result.

It didn't take long to find Aria T'Loak, the asari that ran the asteroid on an unofficial level. She was located in the part of the club that had heavy security and was located high above everything and everyone else. She was one of those women - if you could call a mono-gendered feminine looking alien a woman - who was full of herself to the point of nausea. She was like all asari - beautiful to look at and on the slender side of the weight scale. Her skin tone was a bit hard to make out thanks to the club's frantic lighting - a mix of bluish hues, hard to say.

Shepard had done her duty as leader and went to speak with Aria about getting info on our current target, Archangel. I couldn't hear much since Zaeed and I were not allowed up to the sitting area. The pounding music didn't help either. However, I was aware of several pairs of batarian eyes looking at me and when I say several I _mean _several. Each batarian male that stood guard for Aria had two pairs of eyes in their big brown/yellow striped heads and several nostrils that were not at all appealing to look at. They were leering at me with obvious interest.

I suppressed a shudder as I avoided looking at any of them and kept my focus on Shepard, who was still speaking with the unofficial "queen" of Omega. I was never good at reading lips but I thought I could make out "he's... trouble" on Aria's lips before the rest became a garbled mess, too quick for me to catch much less understand.

A firm grasp on my ass brought me right out of my intense focus and I whirled around on instinct, pulling out my heavy pistol. It came to a stop against the gut of a human male, who looked surprised at the sight of it. He focused his gaze on me as he slowly released my ass and held up his hands in surrender. "S-sorry... I-I t-thought you were o-one of the dancers..."

"Touch me again asshole," I said, my voice taking on a steely tone as I released the safety to the trigger. "We'll see how far you make it out in one piece."

The human patron backed off before he quickly turned on his heel and ran off. I glanced at the batarians, who stood guard and frowned at them. Goddess, they simply continued to leer at me.

_Stupid asses..._

I kept my pistol armed should another idiot decide to mistake me for a dancer.

"Sweetcheeks, that was downright sexy," said Zaeed as he moved closer to my side. "You sure this is your first real run?"

I didn't respond at first but I did glance at and studied him. He had that look in his eyes again, as if he were imagining all kinds of things I really didn't want to know about. The frown on my face had grown worse. "My second. And my name is-"

"Moreno, got it," he said, a slight smile touching his weathered lips. "Sweet cheeks just suits you better." He cast his gaze to the batarians that continued to watch us before glancing back at me. He folded his hands across his armored chest as his stance relaxed slightly, though I could see the tension in his form. He was always on alert for any particular threat. "So, you're familiar with the heavy pistol, that's good. Any other weapons you know how to handle? It's better to have the pistol for backup if you wanna make it through a fight in one piece."

I focused my gaze on him before I holstered my pistol and wordlessly reached to the holster on my back. I withdrew a submachine gun and it unfolded itself automatically, readying itself for use. The batarian guards had raised their own weapons in response but I didn't acknowledge them. I stared at the gun before glancing at Zaeed in response to his question. It was a basic model, one that Miranda was using and had trained me on along with the pistol. Since heavy pistols and submachines guns were the staple for basic warfare at this time, it seemed a logical choice to start with. I was aware that there were upgrades that could be done to my weapons to make them more efficient and deadly. At this time though, so early on in my second true field experience, it was better for me to become more familiar with the basic models I had.

"Fair enough," said Zaeed, an amused smiling playing on his face. "It's a good start. But you're a small woman sweetheart, one with a fair amount of cushion. You gotta be quick on your feet to use those more effectively."

"I know," I said as I holstered the back in its proper place, ignoring the batarian guards that still kept their weapons trained on me. "I'd love to find something else that would suit me better but Miranda was the only one who had the opportunity to train me and those are the only weapons she knows. She has the added bonus of being a biotic so they work well for her."

"Have you thought about training up on sniper rifles? Does heavy damage from a good distance. Don't need to worry about getting your pretty arse all riddled with as many bullets." He studied me thoughtfully but there was no hint of that want in his eyes. This time he was sizing me up for a more useful purpose. "You could even get away with an assault rifle if you ever got caught in close combat. Since you wouldn't move quickly you'd want to do as much damage as possible from close range..." He continued studying me before he gave a nod, more to himself than to me."All right then, you convinced me. I'll train you myself."

"Wait, what?"

He smirked at the shocked looked on my face and I could have sworn he would have laughed if he wanted. There was so much amusement in his eyes. "I ain't gettin' any younger. I might need a good deed to slip into the book of life when this ride is over. I'll hone your skills with weapons you can actually use. This'll be free of charge. I've already made a pretty penny with this suicide mission Shepard has us on and I doubt she'll use me on every mission we get. I'll train you when we make it planet side. Gotta keep my own skills sharp. Might as well pass them along."

"Why?" I asked, generally in shock. I was confused. Why would this well-traveled, beaten up, old merc want to help me? I was nothing more than a nurse. A nurse in training mind you. I wasn't looking to get caught up in any battles directly.

Zaeed dropped his arms and the smile faded from his face, his eyes focusing on me with a seriousness I was not expecting. "You're caught up in whatever shit Shepard's gonna be facing. Guarantee you'll do what you're gonna do to make sure she survives. I see the way you are with her and I've only been around a very short time. You're like a mother varren watching her cub from a distance. You know they need to move on their own but you will be there in a heartbeat to tear shit apart should something harm her. You've kept her in your sights since we got here and looking quite keen in making sure no one messes with her. I can respect that. Not many people are that honorable these days."

I blinked in surprise, not even realizing I had done such a thing. I glanced back up at Shepard, where she was still talking with Aria. "She's... one of the few people in this galaxy I have left of my family," I said after a moment, not looking at the merc beside me. "I just... I can't let her get harmed; no matter how much more experienced she is than me. It's stupid to think so. She's been surviving on her own just fine before I met her. Still, I'm here now. I'll do what I can to try to keep her safe."

"Good," he said in agreement. "In order to do that, you have to train up your own strengths to be an asset to her. That's where I come in. Don't worry sweetheart, I'll have you poppin' that last heatsink with the best of them by the time I'm done with you."

I would have blushed at the double meaning but instead a laugh bubbled up from my chest and I shook my head at him. "All right then," I said with a smile as my laughter finally died down. "I'll hold you to it."

-o-

There was something to be said about the occupants of this universe.

Should there be men, of any species, that hold themselves in unwarranted high regard, their attitude toward the fairer sex, no matter the species, would be derogatory.

Case in point: Signing up for the recruitment of freelancers by three of the local gangs to take down Archangel.

The batarian who was signing on freelancers, who was a member of one of the gangs called the Blue Suns, had taken a look at Shepard said, "Well, aren't you sweet? You're in the wrong place honey. Strippers' quarters are that way."

I'm glad I wasn't the only one who took offense; the look on Shepard's face was one of indignation.

_Ha! Not so funny now, is it?_

I could hear Zaeed's chuckle and leaned over to smack him on his armored bicep. He looked at me and quieted right down, though I could still see the amusement in his eyes. I couldn't help the smile on my own face soon as I heard this from Shepard: "Show me yours, tough guy."

I glanced at her and saw that she had pulled out her pistol. She was turning it over thoughtfully as she stared at it. "I bet mine is bigger..." It had to be a trick of my eyes but I could have sworn I saw a soft red glowing line - which looked to be one of her surgical scars - underneath the skin of her jawline at that moment.

Huh... I don't remember seeing that a moment ago.

My worry had grown slightly as I knew what it was and the reaction that had brought it about. I had been warned it might happen with me. It was different actually seeing it for myself.

"Impressive," said the Blue Suns trooper as he turned his attention back to his console. "So you're here to fight, then?"

"You could say that," said Shepard in reply.

That was all the batarian needed to hear before he went off on a rehearsed speech of the fee for signing up, collecting the credits once the job was done, and our friends not receiving our share should we die. We would need our own weapons and armor- which the batarian commented that it looked like we had that covered - and that signing up on this job would not make us a member of any of the three gangs. We were freelancers, period. Good. Last thing I needed was being a member of some gang on my rap sheet when it was time for me to leave this plane of existence again.

There was a brief conversation between the batarian and Shepard as to why the three merc groups were going after Archangel, where the attack was taking place, and how to get to the location. The more I heard about this Archangel, the more I was beginning to like him. He was doing his best to fuck up the plans of the three groups that were doing anything and everything to make an easy credit. Which meant the majority of it fell under ways of living that were making the lives of the few honest folks on this rock more difficult.

We were directed to go to a transport depot outside the club, where another Blue Suns trooper would be waiting to take fresh new freelancers to their deaths. On the way out of the room, Shepard had brief heart-to-heart with a young man who looked in his late teens, who was signing up for the job to take down Archangel. She had taken the pistol he had just bought and jammed it with a couple of quick jabs, her parting words telling the kid to get his money back and that he'd thank her for it later. Well, that was sweet. Hoped he listened to her...

Outside of the club, we made our way to the depot and found the shuttle. We boarded it and were soon on our way to a very different part of this seedy little rock. We were met by another Blue Suns trooper, who explained to us the real situation about the attack on Archangel. Apparently, his base of operations was down a boulevard and the only way in was over a very exposed bridge. Needless to say, it was a killing ground and it was then that I began to feel my unease.

As Zaeed was quick to point out to me earlier, I was not quick enough on my feet to put my weapons to more effective use. My only efficient strategy at this time was to take up the rear of the group, cover their backs, and hope to the goddess that Shepard and Zaeed would draw most of the fire. I pulled out my SMG and got it ready, watching Shepard as she got some more info on the current situation from the trooper. There wasn't much else to know other than the fact that Archangel was going to need some help if he was going to make it off this rock alive.

As the trooper went to his shuttle to go wait for more freelancers, Zaeed turned his attention to Shepard, his weathered face showing some amusement. "In's gonna be easy. Out's gonna be a bitch."

I couldn't help the nervous laugh that escaped me just then as I got my weapon ready. Shepard allowed a hint of smile as she looked at the both of us. "Let's find him first. Then we'll figure out how to get back," she said in reply before she turned her attention to me. "El, this is gonna be a hell of a tougher run than the station. These aren't hacked mechs we'll be dealing with. I'll need you to keep your eyes peeled and your trigger finger ready when I give the signal. You'll do fine. Zaeed and I will keep you covered."

My heart gave a funny jump when I realized that she had called me by my nickname. I wasn't even expecting her to even call me by my first name. That simple little fact meant she trusted me more than I had thought possible. I wonder if she had looked into my records. Well, now it didn't matter. I simply smiled and hoisted my gun. "Lead the way, Commander."

As Shepard began leading us away from the transport depot and down toward the boulevard, a synthesized female voice had broken through our comms. "Shepard, I've scanned the area, but I am unable to plot any other paths to Archangel."

"Guess we're going with the mercs," said Shepard as she led us down one of the low lit corridors that would take us to the boulevard.

The smile that lit up my face was one of general excitement as I followed after the Commander, my nervousness briefly forgotten as I focused my attention on the voice in my ear. "Hey Dee, how are you?"

There was a brief silence before the voice responded to me, the inflections taking on an almost confused tenor. "I am... well, Ms. Moreno." There was another moment of silence before EDI continued on speaking. "I am still unable to find the reason you ask me that every time you speak with me."

"It's called being genuinely interested," I said in response, my smile growing with each passing moment. The _Enhanced Defense Intelligence _program_,_ or EDI, was an AI that had been installed in the _Normandy SR-2_ as a not so subtle way to check all the goings-on within the ship and most likely reporting it back to Cerberus. What I was quick to catch on the moment I was introduced to EDI was that, though she was an AI that had prohibitions in place in her system to block her from going rogue on the ship, there was that spark of awareness in her. She was curious about the humans she had been tasked with watching, and I was using that curiosity to my advantage each and every time I spoke with her. I haven't gotten her to call me by my first name yet but she _was _responding to my redundant inquiries about her well-being. That was a first step. "I would like to know how my favorite AI is doing. We don't talk all the time."

"We talk a sufficient amount in the medical bay, Ms. Moreno," said EDI, though I could detect a hint of an amused inflection in her voice. "There is no need to inquire about my well-being every time we speak. However... I thank you for asking so frequently."

"Can you ladies wait to hold your little girl chat _after _this mission is over?" asked Shepard, though I could see the smile on her face.

"My apologies Shepard," said EDI, "Ms. Moreno, we will continue this discussion when you are back in the medical bay. In the meantime, I have discovered that the heavy mechs and gunships the merc groups have in their possession have a considerable amount of fire power. I will suggest that weakening them before leaving the barricades will increase your chances of getting out relatively unharmed."

That was all Shepard needed to hear as we neared one of the first barricades. She stopped us and turned around to face me, her eyes were intense. She was in full commander mode. "El, are you familiar with hacking and bypassing security systems?"

I allowed the smug smile to briefly touch my lips as I holstered my gun. "It was one of the first things I learned after getting my own omni-tool," I said as rolled my shoulders and cracked my neck. Goddess, there was so much tension there. All of this anxiety was not helping me to stay limber and ready.

"Good. I want you to find the YMIR mech the Eclipse have in their possession and reconfigure its targeting parameters."

"Fuck it up so it attacks everything within its immediate sight. Got it," I said with a smile as I gave her a mocking salute.

She smiled in return and shook her head in amusement. "Zaeed and I will scout the other groups, see what we can find. Meet us on the way to Sergeant Cathka."

"On it," I said and turned away, heading off in the opposite direction of where the Blood Pack and the Blue Suns' bases were located. Making my way through an unlocked series of doors found me within the presence of a salarian speaking to his troops about the coming attack. He must be leader of the Eclipse group here. A few of the members eyed me with curiosity as I made my way through their ranks but no one attempted to stop me. They must have known I was a freelancer and goddess knows I didn't look threatening in the least. It was surprisingly easy to find the heavy mech and bypass the security in its system to disable its targeting parameters. No one was even watching the damn thing. It was just in a room all by itself. I had also located a few goodies that I was sure we would be able to use later on. I hacked into the systems to attain the data and made my way back out of the base as nonchalantly as when I wandered in. Goddess, either these were witless idiots or I pulled off the role of a confused newbie even better than I thought.

I hurried on my way toward the third barricade and found Shepard and Zaeed were already on their way toward where the gunship was located. I flashed a smile at one of the freelancers who were standing guard as I passed him, catching him off guard, before I moved quickly to follow up with my group. Zaeed glanced at me in question when I came to a stop beside him and I gave him a wink in response before a slight nod. He smirked in amusement as Shepard went on to talk to the batarian Blue Suns "sergeant" named Cathka. There were a few moments of pointless conversation, mostly trying to figure out what the plan was for the attack on Archangel. It was then that Cathka had a received a message from the infiltration team and it was "Go, go, go!" for the freelancers. They really didn't move in much of a hurry. Couldn't blame them.

Zaeed had watched the group head toward the bridge before he glanced at me, a particular look on his face. That look said, "Are you shittin' me?" I wanted to laugh but bit my lip to keep from making a sound. He smirked at that but thankfully said nothing.

"Archangel's got quite a surprise waiting for him," said Cathka as he pushed away from his console and pressed a finger to his helmet. His visor had darkened then. "But that means no more waiting for me." He turned his back on us as he made his way toward the gunship. "Gotta get her back to 100% before Tarak decides he needs her again."

The frown on my face was instant as I stared at the back of the batarian "sergeant," who had gone to work back on the gunship. As I had noted earlier, there was something to be said about certain occupants of this universe. In particular, men like this one... They were smug assholes, plain and simple. Sometimes, they deserved what got thrown at them.

Off to the side, I caught the spark of a welding tool on a counter that was ready for use on the gunship. Without skipping a beat, I moved past Shepard and grabbed the welding tool before making my way to Cathka, holding the welding tool low and behind me and out of the batarian's immediate line of vision. He glanced at me in question when I stopped right beside him, just as he was about to kneel to get to work on the lower hull of the gunship. I smiled at him as I leaned forward, the hump of my breasts catching his immediate attention. "Honey, you look like you're working too hard," I said in a simpering voice, the urge to vomit threatening to come up for even sounding like a brainless airhead. "Do you need a nice, _long,_ break? Maybe I can help you with that..."

"Er- well, I-" was all the batarian got out before I thrust the welding tool against his armored back. He let out a terrible howling as the electric current from the welding tool coursed through him and then he slumped over to the floor in a dead faint. If he was actually dead or not, I didn't particularly care at the moment. I glanced back at Shepard and motioned for her to lead on.

Shepard looked at the body before glancing at me. She let out a huff of laughter before moving on past me without saying a damn thing. However, I saw the approval in her eyes and knew I had done the right thing. Zaeed had followed on after her and he glanced at me with a proud smirk on his weathered face. "Nice one, sweetheart."

-o-

(A/n) sorry guys, been especially busy since this whole pandemic started, my department is understaffed so do not have any free time. Here is a chapter from this story already written. I am working on CTMV at this point and will try to get it updated ASAP. Thanks again for your patience.


	10. Nine

Chapter 9 

We had followed the freelancers toward the bridge and watched as they tried to attack Archangel. I couldn't help the worry that rose up within me as we neared the bridge. "Our little Angel doesn't have much time left," I said as I pulled out my SMG and got it ready for use. Of course, I was well aware that my targets were going to be a little closer to home. My heart was already racing.

"What the hell are we waiting for?" asked Zaeed as he got his own rifle ready.

The freelancers were already on the attack. One even had a rocket launcher though he didn't know how to aim it properly. The explosive went sailing into the air, past where the target was, and exploded in the background of the building where Archangel was holed up in. Archangel had emerged from his cover unharmed but I couldn't make out much from our current position. All I could see was a figure in cobalt blue armor and the next moment the freelancer with the launcher had gone down with barely a grunt, a clear shot to his head.

All right then, he had excellent aim. Nothing to worry about. I still couldn't help the shiver that ran through me as I got my gun ready. _Goddess, please don't let him focus his aim at me..._

Shepard smiled as she started to crack her knuckles. "Come on, we'll give these guys a surprise of our own," she said before casting a glance my way, slight worry in those eyes. "When I give the signal El."

I gave a nod in understanding and clicked off the safety to my gun. Well, here comes hell...

-o-

We had followed the freelancers toward the building that Archangel called his base of operations. We didn't fire at the guy like the freelancers did but imagine my irritation when one of his shots had found its mark against my shields. One shot and they went down like a stack of cards _plus_ I was thrown back from the force of it. It wasn't a big deal, I wasn't hurt, but it was still annoying as hell to be thrown back like that. I didn't move as quickly as Shepard and Zaeed enough as it was, having me slow down even more was of no help at all. Thankfully, the shots weren't often and even a couple had hit Shepard's and Zaeed's shields. Most of the shots from Archangel were directed at the force of freelancers ahead of us.

We were entering the building and heading down an entryway when Shepard finally gave the signal. Fuck me sideways and call me Diamond, I was dreading this moment. The moment Shepard had holstered her current weapon to withdraw her launcher; it was hell or high water time. She let loose an explosive that decimated a couple of the people ahead of us. I had heard one of the freelancers shout, "They're with Archangel!" before hell had finally broke loose and tried to make us her bitch. Shepard had switched back to her assault rifle and was doing some pretty heavy damage with Zaeed.

I took up the rear as planned, my SMG getting a good workout as I followed after the veterans who took down the freelancers the further we went. There were a few who still managed to try to get a shot in when we passed, a few hitting my shields, but I took them down with little problem since they were already heavily wounded. We ran up a stairwell to a second floor corridor where one of the freelancers was trying to hack into a locked door. A few shots from Shepard were all it took to take him out and it was a clear path to the man who was causing so much trouble for three of the most notorious gangs on Omega.

Shepard led the way through the now open door and Zaeed and I followed close behind her. The moment we emerged into a spacious sitting room, and turned toward the balcony that Archangel was held up in, we all pointed our weapons in his direction. He had glanced back at us, his face obscured by a cobalt blue helmet with a black visor, as Shepard took a few steps toward him. "Archangel?"

He held up one finger to us, one of three visible on his hand that I was able to make out, and even I understood the universal sign for "wait a moment." He placed his hand back on his sniper rifle and waited a few moments before he let loose one shot. I could hear a cry in shock out in the distance and then silence. Judging from his appearance, it would be safe to say he was a turian. I had done enough recent studying on their anatomy and it wasn't hard to make out the distinctness of his armor. There weren't many in the galaxy that had that large, high collar around their necks.

After completing the shot, Archangel set the butt of his rifle down on the floor and stood up on the balls of his feet. I could see the large two-toed, booted feet were of a kind that reminded me of animals back on Earth where their hind legs were arched to the point that they stood naturally in such a way. It was a distinct feature among krogans, salarians, quarians and turians. Asari, humans, and perhaps the volus, were the only relevant species who stood on the entire arch of their foot.

When he stood to his full height all I could think was: _Holy shit, was this guy tall..._

As he walked toward us in a relaxed manner, reaching up to pull his helmet off, I wondered how tall he really was. I was a short woman by human standards, standing several inches just over the five foot range. This male was well over six feet in height, no question. Very easy for a woman like me to feel intimidated. As he pulled his helmet off, Shepard and Zaeed took the initiative to holster their weapons and walk toward the male. I was a little more hesitant to holster my own but if these two veterans didn't see a threat, I guess I could relax.

Archangel had set his helmet aside on a counter and went to take a seat beside it on the arm of a much abused sofa. He set his feet up on the cushion in front of him, setting his rifle right by his leg as he took on a relaxed stance. He looked like most turian males with the distinct earth-tone color to his thick skin and plates, his head bearing the crest of horns that flowed out to a point behind his scalp, and the mandibles that surrounded his mouth and protected his very sharp teeth beneath his lip plates. Around what would be his nose, his mandibles, and jawline, there was a distinct dark blue tattoo that signified his family's colony of origin. His eyes were a shade of blue that ranged from sky to sapphire, depending on how you looked at him. The blue visor over his left eye seemed to be a piece of equipment that helped with his aiming. There was nothing remarkable about him that made him stand out from his fellow turian. At this moment, his brow ridges were raised slightly in what seemed to be surprise.

"Shepard," he began, his deep voice having a distinct flanging effect that immediately set my heart a flutter. Oh _hell_no. For all that is holy and good in the goddess' eyes, this turian had the voice of smooth velvet. I was aware of the flanging effect their voices were capable of through the translators but I had never heard it for myself. After all, Cerberus wasn't a pro-human group for nothing.

"I thought you were dead," he continued.

_Oh shit..._

I think I just had a mini-orgasm in my panties. This guy's voice just wrapped around my senses and stopped all rational thought. I had _not_been expecting to feel this sudden rush of attraction my body was giving in response to the _sound_ of him.

Shepard had come to a stop several feet from the obvious turian male that was so relaxed in front of us and the look of surprise on her face was no joke. "Garrus!" she cried out, holding out her hands in welcome.

Oh no, she knew this male with the hot as butter voice? Oh fuck me and fuck me hard... I was screwed anyway.

"What are you doing here?" she asked in surprise, her eyes traveling over the turian male in worry and concern.

"Just keeping my skills sharp," he said in response, that deep voice of his making my beating heart beat even faster. I was sure I had a slight blush on my face as I tried, but failed, to keep from staring at the turian in front of me. "A little target practice."

"You OK?" asked Shepard, the concern for her now known friend was coming through clear as crystal. This must have been one of her old crew mates from the original _Normandy_. I hadn't looked into detail on the records of her crewmates when I had studied up on her previous missions. I just knew that she was keen on working with other species if it meant to get the job done efficiently.

"Been better," he said, the tension now visible on his face as he glanced away to look at Zaeed before his eyes fell upon me. I was sure my cheeks were flaming pink by how warm they felt but I held his gaze, trying to gain back some semblance of normalcy. Turians were not the most appealing to look at, even more so if you thought of them from a clinical perspective. I just had to remember all the data I had studied on their anatomy. It would help to calm down the sudden rush of hormones his voice was bringing out in me. Still, it was difficult every time he opened his mouth. I hadn't felt this much attraction to someone since I had first met my ex-husband in college. What the hell was the matter with me? He was a turian for goddess' sake. They were not meant to be appealing to those outside of their own species. Yet, here was one that was clearly getting under my skin. Goddess, I had problems...

"But, it sure is good to see a friendly face," he continued, his eyes finally settling back on Shepard. "Killing mercs is hard work... Especially on my own."

I took in a deep breath and tried to relax myself.

This was fine.

No problem.

It was easy enough to find the reason I would be affected by a voice that could burn the thong off of any female. I had a weakness for such a thing by default. My ex had a voice that made me peel off my underwear in less than a minute. Before that, it was a high school boyfriend that merely grumbled deep sweet nothings in my ear and my legs had spread apart. I had a weakness. That was all right. I just had to be stronger than this that's all. Of course, it would mean having to deafen my hearing...

The conversation continued between the two old friends and I had decided the best thing for me to do was to ignore everything that was coming out of Garrus' mouth. I focused on the view beyond the balcony, studying the shadows for any signs of any more freelancers or members of the merc groups. I recited each and every organ within a salarian female while I did this, my nerves now calming down as I took on the clinical stance of a nurse. This was like any other surgical procedure: Look at it from a medical perspective and the emotions get pushed aside to get the job done.

While they spoke, a shift of movement in the distance beyond the bridge caught my eye. I withdrew my SMG and clicked off the safety, the noise catching everyone's attention. "We have some company on their way, Commander," I said, the sound of my voice was low and distant, the frown on my face a telling sight. I glanced at Shepard and found the Commander looking at me with faint surprise and confusion. I wondered if it was the way I was looking or how I sounded but decided not to comment on it. This was my cloak of an RN when the situation was more dire than expected. It helped when dealing with those terminally ill cases and the emotions were a hindrance instead of help.

She and Garrus had moved toward the railing to see for themselves and Zaeed had walked over to me, withdrawing one of his own weapons from the holster on his back. "Good eye sweetheart," he said before he handed me his weapon. "Here."

I looked at the sniper rifle in surprise as I holstered my gun and took the rifle, glancing up at him in question. He smirked as he pulled out his assault rifle and got it ready. "Lesson number one has begun, Moreno. Until you get your own, use mine. First rule of thumb: Scope is your best tool. Use it."

I allowed the amusement to seep through as I armed the rifle and gave a nod. Well, seems it was time for me to start training again...

-o-

Treating this sniper rifle like a piece of surgical equipment made it easier in taking down the waves of the merc troops that were coming at us. It wasn't hard to figure out how to use the rifle and within a few short waves of idiots, my aim and shooting was vastly improved as compared to using the pistol or SMG. I think, dare I say it, I had fallen in love. The new weapon of choice was making my training a hell of a lot more effective this time around than anything I had done with Randa this past year.

Shepard had certainly noticed the difference and she was calling out warnings to me when there was a trooper just beyond the vision of my scope that I needed to take down. They went down without so much as a goodnight. I would be lying if I said it was easy though. There were a few times I had taken a couple of shots after my shields had gone down but it was nothing to be immediately concerned after the medi-gel had automatically been dispensed. I just wondered how bad the bruising would be afterward.

There was a brief lull in the battle where Garrus had reloaded his rifle and aimed over the railing. Something heavy had just emerged hovering from the darkness of the bridge's corridor and landed with an even heavier thud among the bodies that littered the ground. It unfolded itself and aimed the guns it was equipped with. Garrus let out a low growl as he focused the scope of his rifle. "Damn it. They're sending out the heavy mechs."

"Estella?" I heard Shepard call from my left and I didn't even glance her way as I reloaded my rifle.

"It's done Commander," I said before focusing my attention on the turian, who was several feet away on my right. "Don't worry Angel. That problem's gonna take care of itself." I looked away but I could feel Garrus' gaze lingering on me. I aimed my rifle and peered through my scope, watching the heavy mech as it turned on its heavy feet and focused its sight on the bridge. It wasn't a moment later that I saw a several figures begin to emerge from the shadowed corridor of the bridge. I focused the cross-hairs of my scope and let loose a shot that got one of the fuckers right through the exposed area of his neck. He went down and stayed there.

Zaeed had let out a guffawing laugh from Shepard's left as he reloaded his assault rifle. "Oh sweet cheeks, you're doing this old man proud."

"Nice shot," said Shepard as she glanced at me and smiled approvingly. "Seems you found your touch."

I could only smirk in response as I focused my scope on the next figure but didn't need to let loose another shot. The heavy mech had detected the new targets and was assailing a hail of bullets right on its masters. Oh goddess, that was a good thing. This battle would have been a hell of a lot worse if that mech hadn't been tampered with. There were several Eclipse members that were caught off guard as they made their way over the bridge only to be gunned down. A few made it past the mech but didn't get far when one of our own bullets found its mark.

It got more heated the moment that the Eclipse leader had emerged among his teammates and the mech was shot down. It broke down on the spot but it had done its job and soon every member of the Eclipse group was down for the count. It was Garrus who got in that last shot that knocked the salarian on his ass and finally brought things to a temporary close.

"Looks like that's all of them," said Garrus as he released the spent cartridge of his thermal clip and began to relax. "They'll need some time to regroup." He reloaded his rifle and passed a glance at Shepard. "You're kicking ass, Shepard. They barely touched me."

"Thank my team," she said with a smile as she reloaded her own rifle. "Lord knows this would have been more of a bitch if I was by myself."

"You're right," he said before glancing at Zaeed and me. "Thanks to you three, I wouldn't be standing here. We even managed to get Jaroth in the process. I've been hunting that little bastard down for months..."

"You're welcome," I said as I holstered my weapon and activated my omni-tool. "Now, how's everyone feeling? Any major arteries hit? Loss of feeling anywhere?"

"I'm all right sweetheart. Barely a scratch," said Zaeed with a smirk as he settled himself down on one of the counters that was beside another much abused sofa.

"I'm fine too," said Shepard, setting down her rifle as she glanced at me. "Nothing medi-gel can't fix."

I focused my gaze on the turian and raised a brow in question. "Are you all right too, Angel? You look exhausted. I have an energy pack that can help. It's dextro-protein based so no worries about it causing a bad reaction."

Garrus gave the turian equivalent of a smile before he let loose a grumbling chuckle that nearly made my nurse's façade falter. "I'd appreciate it, thanks," he said as he moved over to grab the small cube ration I offered him. He inserted it into the medi-gel slot of his body armor and let out a relieved sigh as the feeling of renewed energy worked its way through his system, giving him the needed boost. "Spirits, I almost forgot how it feels to have that much energy." He stretched out his arms and back before focusing his gaze on me. "You seem ready more than most. Energy packs aren't really a priority in merc missions."

"That's because she's a nurse," said Shepard, the smile on her face growing as she looked at me. "I'm having her trained for combat. I didn't realize how much it helped having medical staff right out on the field with you. It's nice to have someone with all the medical knowledge you could need just shy of the medical bay of the _Normandy_ to help out in a dire situation."

"I'm not a nurse yet Shepard," I said with a sheepish tone. "Just an EMT for now until I past these next set of exams."

"You were a surgical nurse from your life before, El," she said, the smile on her face dimming slightly as she focused her gaze on me. "You haven't forgotten that. You're still a nurse as far as I'm concerned. You'd know how to patch up a human in an emergency situation with tech from 170 years ago. That would be considered the bare necessities in this time frame. Seeing as I'm human, and the bare necessities are what we're working with out in the field, that's all I need to know."

I decided to let the subject drop and focused my gaze back on Garrus. "We still have a couple of merc groups to worry about, Angel. Would now be a good time to try that crack in their defenses?"

"Maybe," said Garrus in reply, the look in his blue eyes showing amusement for some odd reason before he turned around to look out over the balcony. "Let's see what they're up to..." He focused his gaze on the bridge corridor across the way and I think he was getting a good look thanks to the visor over his left eye. "They've reinforced the other side... heavily." He let out a sigh as he took a step back from the railing. "But they're not coming over the bridge yet... What are they waiting for?"

A huge explosion rocked the very foundation beneath our feet at that moment and an alarm could be heard in the distance on the first floor of the building. Well, that answered that question.

Garrus checked his omni-tool and let out a curse as his screen shown him the result of his scans. "They've breached the lower level," he said as he typed away at a few keys. "Well, they had to use their brains eventually." He focused his gaze on Shepard as he dropped his left arm. "You'd better get down there Shepard. I'll keep the bridge clear."

"Not on your own, you're not," said Shepard as she armed her gun. "There's going to be a hell of a lot more troops coming over that bridge. You'll need what help you can." She focused her gaze on me then and pointed a gloved hand my way. "Estella, you stay with Garrus. Zaeed and I will take care of the lower level."

I would have opened my mouth to protest but knew it was pointless. I wasn't nearly as skilled as Zaeed in regards to sniping but goddess knows he was much faster on his feet. He was a better choice for handling the close combat range. I would be of better use here where I could snipe the fuckers as soon as they came into scope. Besides, I wouldn't be by myself. "Yes ma'am," I said with a small smile and a mocking salute. "So long as Angel here helps to cover where I lack, you can count on me."

"Lucky bastard," muttered Zaeed as he armed his rifle. He threw a look at Garrus, who looked back at him in confusion, before turning to Shepard. "Ready when you are."

Shepard had smiled at me in amusement, most likely at Zaeed's less than enthusiastic response to her orders, before she looked at Garrus. "Where do we go from here?"

"Go down a level- the basement door is on the west side of the room just behind the stairs," he said, already aiming his rifle over the railing of the balcony. "I'll radio directions if you need help but you've got to get down there quick. Good luck."

With one last parting farewell, Shepard headed out of the room and toward the corridor that led to the stairwell. Zaeed glanced at me as he cocked his gun and gave a nod before turning to follow after the Commander. Now alone, I glanced at the turian beside me before arming my sniper rifle and giving him a nervous smile. "Ready?"

"As I'll ever be," he said with a smile as he got into position and focused his gaze through the scope. I followed his example and took a deep breath in to calm my nerves. This was going to be just like any other surgical procedure...

-o-

At first, there weren't too many and Garrus was looking comfortable as each body hit the ground. I wasn't as much. There was this feeling of unease that settled in the pit of my stomach and I wondered exactly what the source was. Even though I had done what I could to sabotage the mercs' operations on their mech and their gunship, there was still a chance something could go wrong. I hadn't seen sign of the gunship yet and wondered, though I had taken Cathka down for the count, if they could still use the gunship effectively even if not at a 100% functionality.

At this point, Shepard and Zaeed were making their way around various points in the basement and sealing up the shutters that closed off access to the building. There was a hell of a battle going down there but they seemed to be holding their own...

Another wave of mercs was coming over the bridge and Garrus and I were under heavy fire. I don't know how we managed to pull off knocking them out, despite the shots I was taking when my shields went down. My medi-gel reserves were beginning to run low and even Garrus was looking worse for wear but we were OK so far. After what seemed like a lifetime later, Garrus finally got the signal that all shutters to the basement were sealed.

Garrus got on his comm and called out to Shepard that we were OK but we were going to need help soon. It was at that moment that I noticed from my place in the balcony, that overlooked the entryway of the building, that a shower of sparks was coming from one of the locked doors in the lower level. I quickly moved over to Garrus and butted the side of my hip against him, effectively knocking him out of the way. The doors had opened right at that moment and the first krogan I had ever laid eyes on stormed his way into the lower level with a roar. "Rip them to shreds!"

I took aim through my scope and fired at one of the Blood Pack members, a species I was not familiar with. It was right on target and the thing went down with barely a grunt, a nice hole in its spiky cranium.

"Shepard, you better get up here. They're coming in through the doors," said Garrus before he cut off the signal and reloaded his rifle. "Nice shot by the way, Estella," he said as he positioned himself around me and further down to my left. He glanced at me then and smiled in that turian way of his.

I ignored the spread of warmth that heightened through my cheeks from his gaze. I tried to ignore the spread of warmth through various lower regions from the sound of my name on his voice. I turned away from him without a word, focused my gaze through my scope, and sent out a hail of bullets as the hormones that coursed through me took on a different outlet.

I managed to take down a fair number of the Blood Pack members and their strange dog-like pets, the name varren came to mind. Garrus was racking up the head shot count as, thank be to the goddess, Shepard and Zaeed finally arrived on scene to even the odds. The battle continued on and the worry was beginning to grow in me. I could hear the fight emerging right on the second level corridor that led to this balcony.

Garrus had turned on the spot the moment the door opened and the Blood Pack krogan came barreling through from across the room. "Die Achangel!"

I raised my rifle and let loose a series of shots straight at the krogan's face. The shields around him crackled from the several impacts. Garrus fired right with me and the both of us managed to take down his shields just as he aimed his launcher to fire at us. I ducked out of the way behind the sofa just in time as the explosive sailed over my head, out the balcony railing, and went off on the bridge below. Garrus had taken cover as well but was right on his feet to fire. I followed up after him and let loose a few shots that got the bastard right in the face. It was at that moment that an explosive got the krogan from behind and he was blown apart with little trouble. The sight of entrails and scattered body parts did little to help my nerves and I took in a breath.

_Just surgery... This is all it is..._

Shepard emerged from the clearing smoke of the explosive and holstered her launcher as she looked at us with a smile. "Sorry we're late."

"Thanks Shepard," said Garrus as he lowered his rifle. "They hardly got through to me."

Shepard gave a nod before casting her blue-gray eyes my way. There was concern on her face as she walked toward me. "Moreno, are you all right?"

"Never been better," I said in reply, though I sure as hell didn't feel like it.

"It's just..." she hesitated as she came to a stop in front of me and reached up to run a gloved finger against my cheek. "El... Your face is glowing red."

I winced at her touch, feeling what must have been a new wound from where one of the bullets had grazed me. I wasn't surprised by it. Miranda had warned me it would happen if I was under a great deal of stress. The cybernetics that had been used to reconstruct my anatomy from scratch would show to have an adverse reaction if certain negative actions not normally considered took place. It would raise that stress level and the after effect made the surgical scars more visible. The actions that affected me negatively at this moment were taking lives.

"It's nothing to worry about," I said as I gently pushed her hand away and gave a smile. "Side effects of the cybernetics used in the reanimation. I just need to take a few calming breaths and think happy thoughts. It'll start to heal on its own and the glowing will fade."

She frowned thoughtfully and reached up to touch her own face. "Has that happened to me?"

I gave a nod but said nothing else as I turned away and got my rifle ready. There was only one more merc group to worry about and I was not letting my guard down. Garrus had called Shepard's attention then and they discussed on the next course of action to take. I ignored them and made my way to the windows that lined right side of the room. I looked down into the shadowed areas of the street below before lifting my rifle to look through the scope. I caught the rapid movement of something flying right towards where we were and I turned with a shout of warning. "They're coming!"

I ran off toward the group, hearing the glass of the window shattering behind me, while Zaeed called out to me. "Get your head down!"

I didn't need telling twice and I ducked behind one of the sofas for cover. I holstered the sniper rifle and pulled out my SMG. I took the safety off just as Garrus let out another curse.

"I thought I took that thing out already," he said with a growl as he holstered his sniper rifle and took out his own assault rifle.

"They fixed it but not all the way," said Shepard as she aimed her own rifle. "El made sure of that."

"They're lettin' loose some troops," called out Zaeed as he aimed and started to fire at the figures that were climbing through the broken window and already a hail of bullets were flying past. The battle began before we could even take a breath and my heart was hammering so hard. The adrenalin that rushed through my system was only rivaled by the constant flow of medi-gel with every hit I took when my shields went down. There was some commotion on the lower floor and Shepard, Zaeed and Garrus rushed to the part of the balcony that overlooked the entryway below.

I held back to catch my breath, my nerves buzzing as I holstered my SMG and took out the rifle once more. I swallowed back the lump in my throat as I focused my scope on the doorway from my cover behind a counter. If they were going to rush in here I would give them a hell of a welcome.

As the Blue Suns troops were making their way toward the rear stairs, Zaeed and Shepard were focusing their attack on them. Garrus had taken a moment to step back and reload his rifle and I glanced at him out of reflex from spotting the movement. I'm not sure if it was instinct or a sixth sense but the moment I caught rapid movement out of the corner of my eye beyond the broken window, I didn't hesitate to rush to my feet. "Get down!"

I ran towards Garrus and, with my momentum, pushed all of my weight into tackling him. He had turned to me in surprise and caught me, trying to brace himself against me, but couldn't find his footing. We fell over and down behind a counter that held some dying, potted plants.

"_Archangel_!"

A voice sounded over a PA system as a hail of bullets fired over us and against the counter we were taking cover behind. Garrus immediately tightened his hold over me and pulled me closer against him, moving his broad frame over me to cover me from the attack.

"Y_ou think you can screw with the Blue Suns_!"

Garrus had moved his head slightly to see what was firing at us. However, I already knew it was that damned gunship. I was moving against him, trying to free myself from his vice-like grip so I could get my rifle ready.

"_This ends now!_"

"Damn it!" was all he said and the next moment I was thrown into the air with surprising strength before crashing against the floor in a bone-cracking sprawl. I had barely gotten my head up before an explosion rocked from close by, knocking me back, and blocking out all other senses.

Ringing filled my ears and my vision was blurry as I tried to get up on my hands and knees. I could barely make out the cobalt blue armor that belonged to Garrus. He was lying prone on the floor and dark blue blood was beginning to pool beneath him. Goddess damn him, he took the hit.

"Angel!" I called to him, my voice sounding as nothing more than a muffled hum to my own ears. I crawled my way over to him, my body crying out in protest, not paying any mind to Shepard and Zaeed on either side of us as they worked on firing the damn gunship down. The moment I reached him, I turned him over as best I could and felt my blood grow cold at the sight. The right side of his face had been caught in the blast but the worst of it was that the right side of his neck had a gaping hole that was spilling over blue blood.

It seemed that everything that had happened afterward was in a haze. My body had gone on straight instinct as it used to way back when...

-o-

_Need to stop the blood flow._

_Need to staunch the wound._

_No gauze._

_No dressings._

_Need bandages._

_Where?_

_Cloth. Sleeve. Armor in the way. Take it_off_!_

_Medi-gel. Cloth. Seal it all. Stop the flow. Prevent infection._

_Not enough medi-gel..._

_Still bleeding!_

_Trouble breathing._

_Heart rate rising._

_Blood pressure rising._

_Need medical bay. Need doctor. Too much damage._

_Not enough._

_Apply more pressure. Need him to stay awake._Make_him stay awake._

-o-

My haze had lifted the moment his blue gaze had focused on mine. I could hear someone calling his name over and over, telling him to focus. It took a moment for me to realize it was my voice. His head was in my lap and his blue blood was all over me as I pressed a makeshift bandage against the wound on the side of his neck. The sleeve of my outfit had been torn off and a piece of my armor from that arm was now on the floor beside us. I didn't even recall doing such a thing but the medi-gel I had left was failing to keep wound sealed and the blood in. I had to staunch the wound somehow.

"Angel, I need you stay focused on me," I said as I kept my eyes on his. "I know it's hard but you have to stay awake. Can you do that for me?"

He let out a gurgling gasp as he tried to take a breath, his eyes flicking between mine before he blinked. I took that as a yes and I gave him a smile. "Good. Now, I need you to breathe slowly. We need to keep your heart calm and your blood pressure low so you don't lose as much blood. Do you think you can do that?"

He blinked again as he let out another gurgled breath, his hand reaching up to clamp over mine. I gave a nod and started to ease him into a breathing exercise, gently speaking to him as I tried to keep him calm. I could hear the quiet of our surroundings and wondered when Shepard and Zaeed had taken down the gunship. I had been so focused on Garrus I couldn't even recall being shot at.

I heard their footsteps approaching and felt a hand rest on my right shoulder. I heard Shepard's heavy breathing as she kneeled down beside me. "Garrus?"

"He's wounded badly. We need to get him to the medical bay. The blood is not stopping. I didn't have enough medi-gel..." I said all of this between breaths as I kept the pressure on his wound. I didn't look away from his blue gaze as I took another breath. "In Angel... That's it... Keep breathing. Stay focused on me."

"He's not gonna make it," said Zaeed and I frowned, tearing my gaze away from Garrus'.

"He'll be fine once we get him to the med bay," I said in a harsh tone, my anger growing as I stared at the old merc. I felt Garrus' hand squeezing mine tightly, and heard his gurgled breaths, before I could focus my gaze back on him. "You'll be _fine_ handsome. Just stay with me..."

"We'll get him out of here. Just keep him awake," said Shepard as she released me and held a hand to her omni-tool. With a rush against the insert slot of her armor, several packs of medi-gel dispensed and she handed them to me. "Here. Use this to seal up the wound." I took it right away, broke open the seal to the first pack, and started applying it to his wound. I heard Shepard as she went on her comm. "Radio Joker. Make sure they're ready for us."

I kept my gaze on Garrus' as I let a small smile through. "Keep breathing Angel. You've made it this far..."

His blue eyes wavered slightly but he blinked and focused on mine, a look in those orbs I could not read.


	11. Ten

Chapter 10

I couldn't recall much of the journey back to the Normandy; my entire focus was on keeping the turian male awake. The moment we boarded the ship Dr. Chakwas, and a few of the crew members, were there waiting for us with a gurney ready. A frown had appeared on her face as soon as she saw who it was that was injured.

"Lay him here," she said with all the authority of the Commander. Zaeed, Shepard and I had helped to lay the turian down on the gurney, though his bulky armor was not helping him lie prone. It was probably a good thing. With him sitting up like that, the blood rush would stay mostly away from his open wound.

While the crew had started moving Garrus off to the med bay, I followed right beside him. I had not let go of his hand since we left that hell hole and he seemed all right with it, keeping his blue gaze focused on my own. I could hear Shepard's steps right behind me as I kept talking in a soothing way to the turian, telling him that he was doing well, he was going to be all right. There had been a spark of something in his eyes and he, despite his trouble breathing, he had given me that turian smile of his.

The moment we reached the med bay, the doc had turned to me and held out a hand to hold me back. I still held Garrus' hand tightly and I refused to let go, the gurney coming to a stop in the middle of the medical bay. "I'll take care of him Estella. He'll be all right."

"B-but... Y-you n-need my h-help. That's what I-I'm here for."

Dr. Chakwas smiled at me as she reached down to carefully remove my hand from Garrus'. He had let go after the doc had to pry my fingers one by one from his three-fingered grip, though I could feel the hesitance in his motion. She then took my hand in hers and gave it a squeeze. "You did by making sure to slow his blood flow and keeping him awake until he got here. You have done more than enough. You need to get some rest." Her eyes had flicked behind me and gave a nod. "Commander, if you could take Moreno from here? I've got everything handled."

I felt an arm wrap around my left one as I cast one last glance at Garrus. He stared back at me, struggling to breathe, the look in his blue eyes was hard to decipher. However, I didn't put up any further arguments as Shepard helped me out of the medical bay. I could feel my body finally begin to relax and the adrenalin that had been pumping through my system had finally run its course. I slumped against the Commander, my moves becoming more sluggish as she took me away from the med bay. She didn't say anything by way of complaint. She simply held onto me and gave me the much needed support.

I didn't ask where she was taking me. I assumed it was to my own closet of a room aboard this ship. I was just grateful for the help to stand. However, when we bypassed my room, my senses came back to life. I looked back at the small door that led to my room before looking at the Commander in question. She didn't look at me and instead guided me to the elevator. When the doors to the elevator opened, Shepard helped me in and kept a firm hold on me as she pressed on the holographic console for the top-level of the ship.

"Where are you...?"

"You need to time away from others," said Shepard as she hefted me further up against her frame for better support, her arm moving around my waist. The slight feel of my stomach dropping slightly was a sure indication that we were moving up. She looked at me and gave an understanding smile. "You're a nurse by trade. Saving lives is what you do. Not taking them. I'm surprised the shock hasn't hit your system yet."

I frowned at that as the motion came to a stop and the doors opened. She helped me across a small walkway and toward another door. "I'm sure it will any moment now," I said in reply as she led me into her quarters and turned slightly to the right where another door stood.

"El, you need the time to yourself to process everything that had happened," she said as she released her hold on me. "The shock is going to be its worst right after a battle, especially for your first true combat. You need this time away from the others. You can use my shower to get yourself clean. Use my bed and get some sleep. Take as long as you want. I'll have some of your casual clothing brought up. From here on out, you are off duty until I say you are deemed fit. Understand?"

I let out a small smile as I looked at Shepard and gave a small nod. "Yes, Commander," I said as I moved to lean against the wall beside me. "Though, I doubt you would be this kind to the other crew members.

She smiled at me in turn as she took a step back from me, watching me carefully to make sure I didn't fall over. "I would if it was someone who had never had been in combat before. All of the members of this crew have seen some action in one form or another. Even the doc. You though... You're new to this."

I closed my eyes and tried to hold back the tears that were threatening to break through. "I know... If I had the choice though, I would do it all over again... Just to help you Shepard."

"Jane," she said and I opened my eyes to look at her in question. She was smiling slightly as she folded her arms across her armored chest. "I think you can call me Jane now. At least while we're here on the ship."

I smiled at that and gave a nod. She reached out to give my upper arm an affectionate pat before she turned and headed further into her room, no doubt to get comfortable herself. Turning and activating the door, I made my way into a large bathroom and motioned with my omni-tool for the door to lock behind me. Once that was done, I stripped myself of what was left of my armor, med tech suit, my weapons, and finally my undergarments, before heading toward the shower. I pressed a few keys on the console and adjusted the temperature of the water to as hot as I could tolerate. It fell down in a spray of delicious massaging rivulets that drenched me within moments.

I held my hands out to the soap dispenser next to the console, watched the foamy yellow liquid pile in my palms, before I started to lather myself. I closed my eyes, rubbing the soap over my body, but I could not get the image of blue and red blood off my skin. I rubbed harder and harder as my memory played back the echo of shots fired and dying screams and moans. I could see nothing else but Garrus' blue eyes as he gasped for breath and there was nothing I could do to could heal his wound right there and then. The fear that we might not save him in time...

I fell against the wall of the shower and slid down to the floor, the hot water cascading over my trembling form as my wracking sobs overtook me...

-o-

The shower had been desperately needed.

I had stayed within its sweet warmth until it began to cool and I finally found the strength in my legs to stand. I motioned to the console to shut off the water and I stepped out on to the black rubber mat, my eyes drawn to my right as I saw a large closet that held several piles of white towels. I went over and grabbed one, catching a glimpse of myself in the mirror that spanned the wall on my left above the metallic sink and counter.

I turned to stare as I wrapped the towel around my breasts. I stepped closer to the mirror, studying my reflection. My eyes were the same shade of earthy brown I knew well and my dark brown hair was curling from the recent shower. My skin looked slightly flushed but the exhaustion was clear beneath my eyes. On closer inspection, I could make out the wound that Shepard had pointed out earlier on my left cheek and let out a shaky sigh. It had stopped bleeding but it had not healed. A slight red glow could be seen, pulsing gently in time with my heartbeat. I closed eyes and pushed away from the sink, leaving the bathroom altogether.

Out in the Commander's quarters, I made my way slowly past a display case on my right, past the work area for the commander which contained her desk, some shelves and her console. Down a short flight of steps to the room proper, there was an aquarium that spanned the length of most of the wall on my left, though there was no fish within it at this time. To my right was a sitting area for when Shepard could entertain guests and another desk and console. Straight ahead was a queen sized bed, a nightstand on either side of it, (the one on the right had a holographic clock) and to the left was her own vast array of drawers and a closet.

Cerberus did not hesitate to add in personal taste when creating this loft.

I turned my attention back to the bed and found a loose-fitting, navy blue blouse with white flowers embroidered along the bell sleeves, the neckline, and hemlines of the piece. A pair of black flared jeans was lying beside them and a pair of standard issued black boots rested on the floor. They were from my personal wardrobe. I smiled at the thoughtfulness of Shepard and wondered where she had gone to. I had been in the shower for a while...

Ignoring the thought, I got dressed and made my way back to the bathroom to tame my hair. I tossed the towel down the laundry chute and went to the sink. There was a cosmetic cabinet in the wall to the right of the sink that had an assortment of accessories and styling products that could be used for getting one's hair just right. A half an hour later, with my hair straightened and with a bit of product to keep the frizz down. I sighed as I picked up my discarded equipment- making a note to myself to give Zaeed his rifle back- before I made my way back to the room proper and sat down on the bed. I set the equipment down on the floor and lay back in the bed.

I didn't remember falling asleep. I was in that state where you were in between. Almost asleep and not fully awake...

I did remember the feel of the blanket being wrapped around me before my weariness finally took over...

-o-

"...Ms. Moreno, please wake up..."

The voice that finally broke through my consciousness was familiar and I groaned as my mind came back to the plane of consciousness. I had a hard time focusing on any particular train of thought. That was until flashes of the last mission replayed in my mind's eye and I sat up in a frightened state, awake and alert. I searched desperately for my pistol but found nothing on my hip. I looked around frantically but all that I found was an unfamiliar nightstand with a holographic clock. I looked at my surroundings and recognized Shepard's cabin.

I sighed, the shock still left over from the battles finally fading away as realization coursed through me. I was on the Normandy and I was safe for the meantime. I looked around, trying to find the source of the voice that had called to me. "EDI? I'm awake. Is everything all right?"

The AI's voice came through my comm but I could see her hologram emerge to the right of the only door of the room. It was a sphere on top of a cylindrical platform; the sphere bore the lights of a wave display that reminded me of those old stereos that measured the sound output in the display. However, EDI's was horizontal and her display measured the inflections of her synthesized voice.

"Ms. Moreno, Commander Shepard has requested that you meet her down in the communications room. There was something she wished to discuss with you."

A frown touched my features as I tossed back the blanket and climbed out of bed, my boots settling firmly on the floor. "Of course," I said, standing carefully as I tried to regain my focus. I walked around the bed to pick up my equipment from the floor but paused when I found nothing. "Uh... Dee? Where are my things?"

"Shepard had them removed while you were asleep," said the AI in response. "She had your uniform and armor repaired. Your weapons had been returned to the Armory though the sniper rife has been returned to its rightful owner."

"Oh," was all I could think to say and gave a nod. "G-good... thank you Dee. I'll be down to the communications room shortly. Would you let the Commander know?"

"Of course," her voice came with its usual professionalism. "Logging you out, Ms. Moreno."

I stared around the room before I turned to fix the bed sheets back the way I had found them. Nice and neat. I left the commander's quarters and took the elevator down. The entire way I walked out of the elevator and towards the communications room, all I could think was that something had changed. I wasn't sure what it was but something in me had changed completely. I felt like I used to. The husk I had been before this new life: Depressed. Confused. Scared...

"El!"

I glanced up at the sound of my name and a gentle smile touched my features as I saw Jacob making his way down the corridor toward me. He must have left the communications room himself. He stopped in front of me, a worried look on his face as his dark eyes flicked over me.

"Are you OK? You look like hell," he said.

I let out a huff of laughter at that and barely gave a nod in response. "It's... I'm..." I paused at this, trying to find the words to explain to my friend how I was feeling. I couldn't find them and I simply allowed my shoulders to slump, shaking my head slowly. "I'll make it through. Don't worry."

He frowned lightly at that but said nothing else. He simply reached out to grasp my shoulder in one hand, a reassuring gesture, before he continued on his way. I watched him leave before turning back around to head to the communications room.

The door had opened at my approach and I was greeted by the sight of Commander Shepard standing beside a long table. She was dressed in casual attire, at least casual for her. It was like the black and white standard issued outfits that most of the crew wore except it was... more detailed, is all I could describe it as. There were more pockets in the pants but not much else of a difference. I wondered if she would be interested in trying my kind of clothing...

"Jane," I said in greeting as I let a small smile appear, walking slowly into the room. "You wanted to s-" I paused in mid-step, shock registering in my system as a familiar tall form caught my eye. Familiar cobalt blue armor adorned his lean frame though the singed areas and bullet holes in the armor of his high-necked collar and shoulders were testament to the battles that had happened. "Angel...?"

He turned at the sound of my voice and a smile touched his turian features as he caught sight of me. "Estella," he said, the majority of the right side of his face, covered by the unmistakable sight of dressings, bringing a pang of sadness. "I'm surprised to see I'm up before you," he continued, his voice bringing that unmistakable rush of attraction and I was surprised at how welcome the feeling was. I hadn't realized just how deeply his injury had affected me on top of everything else.

I wanted to rush to him. I wanted to take him into a tight hug and cry so hard that I couldn't breathe. I wanted to know that he was OK. However, I didn't give in to the impulse. It would not be right and I would have injured him further, I was sure of it.

It was just...

It was so strange to have seen the injury happen before my eyes and being helpless to do anything aside from offering comfort. To see that he was all right...

I didn't realize the tears had streamed down my face as I stared at him, my breath hitching as I tried to soothe the aching tightness in my chest. He had been the one to move toward me, the slight concern in his blue eyes clear, as he reached out a hand. "Hey now, what's-"

"I'm happy to see you're all right," was all I said in response, furiously wiping the tears away, before I turned my gaze away to focus on Shepard. "EDI said you wished to discuss something with me. I'm here now. What can I do to help?"

Shepard studied me, understanding clear in her gaze, before she reached out to activate her omni-tool. "I needed to get your report on our recent mission. It's standard procedure." She fixed her gaze back on me before quickly flicking to Garrus.

I couldn't help following her gaze back to the turian, who was studying me with obvious concern and worry. I quickly looked away, unsure about why my emotions were going so haywire. I barely gave a nod in consent as I reached up to tuck a lock of hair behind my ear. "I'll... I..." I hesitated before I straightened my posture and stood as tall as able. "I'll have that to you by 23:00. Is there anything else I can do for you, Commander?" I clamped down on my emotions and pulled forth my cloak of an RN.

This was just a job. Like any surgery. Once the surgery was complete, the prognosis reports were essential to maintaining the aftercare of the patient to prevent any further injury or ill-treatment.

Emotions had no place in this.

Shepard looked slightly surprised at the sudden change in me but said nothing as she waved me off, indicating I was dismissed. I gave a nod and turned away, not sparing a glance at Garrus, as I left the room and headed back toward the medical bay.


	12. Eleven

Chapter 11

"Ms. Moreno?"

I felt my shoulders slump slightly as the weariness began to set in at the sound of that voice. Ever since I was brought off duty after the Archangel mission several days ago, I was being followed by the Commander's yeoman everywhere I went in the off duty hours. Kelly Chambers was a persistent little thing and it didn't help that she now effectively had me cornered in my room. I really had nowhere else to go and I was too tired of avoiding her.

I turned my chair around to face her, the console on my small desk showing my recent study logs. I reached up to rub a hand over my face as I slumped in my chair. "Yes, Ms. Chambers?" I responded to her inquiry, not even bothering to look at her as I cast my gaze back to my console. "Is there something I can help you with?"

"I'm glad I could catch you," said Kelly, I could hear the smile in her voice. "I was looking for you. It's surprising how hard it is to find you on this ship. I was hoping I could speak with-"

"Stop," I said as I closed my eyes, took in a calming breath, and shook my head. I could feel the headache coming back again, the one that had persisted since I left the communications room several days earlier. The stress and tension since the battle had not weakened and having this yeoman following me around after hours, trying to get me to talk about something I had no wish to relive, did not help in matters. "Stop there." I got up from the chair, abandoning my studies completely, as I moved to a stop in front of her. "I have no wish to talk with you. Ever."

I glared up at her, the frown on my face clear. She was taller than me but seeing the slight fear in her eyes, I wondered just how awful I truly looked. Had the scarring gotten worse? Was it a terrible red glow that failed to disappear no matter how hard I tried to relax and think happy thoughts? I didn't know. I refused to look in a mirror since that day and my dreams were constantly haunted by the scenes from the battles...

I took in another breath and stepped away from her. "Ms. Chambers, I know it is your unofficial duty to oversee the mental health of this crew. I also know that you report all that you have gotten to know back to Cerberus." I took in another breath and moved around her. "I have no sudden need to spill what few secret thoughts I have to you so please- Stop following me around. If I feel the need to talk and share my trouble with all of Cerberus, I will find you."

I walked past her, leaving her standing there in the doorway of my room, and continued down the corridor toward the mess hall. I didn't get very far before Chambers was calling out to me to wait. I sighed heavily, the manners my mother had instilled in me since childhood taking over, as I stopped and turned around to face the yeoman.

Chambers had come to a stop in front of me, her hand held out as if trying to grab hold of me. She dropped that hand to her side as she took in breath. "I'm sorry Ms. Moreno. I know the true reason that I'm here with this crew wouldn't go past you." She paused, looking around to make sure we wouldn't be overheard, before she stepped closer to me. "I actually hoped I could ask a favor of you," she said, her voice lowering slightly as she studied me.

"A favor?" My tone was one of surprise. This I had not been expecting.

Chambers gave a nod as she looked around again before focusing her gaze on me. "This may come off as a little strange and very personal but there's no one else who I could think to ask who would understand."

This caught my attention and I narrowed my eyes slightly, my suspicion getting the best of me. "What is it?" I asked, my tone hesitant.

She studied me a little longer before she gave a nod and typed away on her omni-tool. It took a moment but the sound of drums could be heard, followed by electronic music and sirens, all beginning in a slow beat. After about twenty seconds, it all came together in a rhythmic beat that I recognized as a reggaeton song from my time. Sure enough, a man's voice began to rap to the beat, gruff and hypnotic, his lyrics coming out in Spanish. "Tamo a lo loco!"

On the holographic screen, a dark-haired figure was dancing provocatively with the music, grinding a well-rounded ass against the crotch of a familiar auburn-haired woman behind her. The sight of the bouncing ass of a Hispanic girl against the crotch of auburn-haired Caucasian girl was erotic enough in my time. I was sure it was more than enough to still be seen on the extranet 170 years later. It was surprising to see I recognized that auburn-haired woman.

That was Alice Shepard...

It was the night I had died. The vid was of a time where for one night I was carefree with my best friend and sister. I was happy... and very drunk.

I didn't remember anyone taking a video of us that night in the club.

A blush had deepened in my cheeks as I quickly looked around to catch sight of several of the crew members who were on break looking over at us from the mess hall, the sound of the music catching their attention. I quickly grabbed Chambers by the hand and pulled her back toward my room. I pulled her inside and quickly pressed the console beside the door to shut it and lock it. I then turned my attention to her, the blush still warm on my cheeks.

"Where on earth did you find that?!" I said, my voice coming out in a screeching hiss.

Chambers was fighting back a smile as she cut off the feed to the vid before focusing her gaze on me. "I had run a facial recognition program on some old vids I had stored for personal use. I knew I had seen you somewhere before I just couldn't place where." The red-haired woman's smile was more open now as a soft giggle emerged. "Could you imagine my surprise at seeing you on one of the early 21st century vids I use to practice my dancing?"

"Practice... dancing?" I stared at the yeoman, my eyes slightly wide. I had not been expecting that response from a Cerberus operative.

Chambers gave a nod as she folded her hands behind her back. "You have no idea how constraining it is to work in an environment where you have to follow so many rules and regulations. Dancing is the only outlet I have. I feel... free." Her eyes had grown bright at this and a true smile lit up her pretty features. "That was why I wanted to speak with you Ms. Moreno. You come from a time where such dancing... Not only was it freeing but it was accepted among the everyday people. Not just for strip clubs. The kind of dancing you did... It's just so... erotic."

Queue the blush. My cheeks felt as if they were flaming by now. I was sure it looked like I had one too many glasses of wine.

If Chambers noticed, she didn't say a word and instead took a step toward me. "I'm trying to learn the way women danced in your time. You lived it and you know it better than any vid can show. The way you move your hips, your ass... The way your breasts just bounce with each and every twitch." She was blushing by this time but she didn't look the least bit ashamed. "I want you to teach me. Show me how to dance the way you did in that video. You remember so much of your old life, I'm sure you remember how to dance. I know you've been through such a horrible ordeal with the last mission. I thought this would be a nice distraction for you. It would benefit the both of us." She looked so vulnerable with her pleading eyes and the twiddling of her fingers. "Please."

"I..."

No words could come to mind as suddenly my brain just came to a screeching halt. Of all the things I could have imagined, this was not something I had thought to be what she would have asked of me. On top of everything else I had experienced, this seemed even more surreal. It seemed something in me had snapped and finally given up. I was done with the worrying and done with the anxiety of what I had been through. As far as I was concerned, I deserved something completely normal to offset everything else I had had to deal with since I had awoken into this new life.

"I... need a drink," I said, my shoulders slumping from the sudden exhaustion. "Get me a drink and I'll see what I can remember."

-o-

A couple of hours later, I was feeling fine.

Kelly Chambers was shaking her little ass next to the table I was sitting at in the mess hall, trying to move in time with the music that was playing from my omni-tool. It was off duty hours for her so there were no worries of being inappropriate. Still, that didn't stop the crew members that were passing by from gawking like a bunch of idiots. I paid them no mind as I stopped the music and shook my head, my hands waving out expansively as I got up from the table. "No, no _chica_, you are thinking too much about it. You're not letting the music flow through you and letting your body move."

Kelly frowned at me before she stomped over and took the seat I abandoned, her cheeks red from the several drinks we both had. "All right El. Show me how it's done then since you know so much."

I let loose a heavy breath as I looked around the mess hall, trying to find something to give good leverage against. I was not going to ask one of the human males standing by to be my dancing pole. They would read too much into that. So would the women actually...

But there were no good poles and the walls were too rounded to feel comfortable...

I think was about to give up on my quest for a good inanimate dance partner when a familiar tall form in cobalt blue armor had emerged from the corridor that led to the room of the Main Battery. The shock of happiness that coursed through my system at the sight of him must have been the alcohol.

I let myself believe it was the alcohol.

Why not? I was tipsy enough.

I let loose the whoop and holler I normally reserved for Joker and waved at the turian like the drunk I most assuredly was. "Woo hoo! Angel! Come over here! I need you for a second!"

Garrus Vakarian paused in mid-step, his gaze focusing on little old me, surprise quite clear in his gaze. "Es-Estella?"

The frown on my face was answer enough as I placed both hands on my hips. "What other human do you see on this ship who's this thick?" I asked, my words coming out a little more slurred than I intended. Oh well... With that damn voice of his, I was sure as hell to slur my words. A woman could get drunk off the sound of that voice alone.

I ignored the sudden thumping of my heart as I moved over to the turian with the hot-as-butter voice and took his hand in my own. "C'mon, I need you now."

"Wh-wha?" he barely got out as he allowed himself to be pulled toward the empty table next to where Kelly was sitting, a shit-eating grin on her pretty features. I ignored her as I turned around and pushed the tall turian back down into the empty seat. He fell back against the seat, the look on his face beyond confused as he looked up at me.

"Don't move. I need you for a demonstration," I said with a smile before I turned my back to him and glanced over at the Yeoman. "Watch carefully Kelly, I'm only gonna do this once." I took in a breath and stretched my arms up over my head. "Play the third track."

Kelly gave a giggle before she nodded and lounged against the table, her smile never fading as she pulled up a music track on her omni-tool. At once the sounds of drums filled the very quiet mess hall, a fast rhythmic beat that kept pace with the trumpets and the vocals. It was like a heartbeat, an adrenalin rush, each pounding drum and trumpet and vocal getting stronger about half a minute in until it all came to a sudden head rush. An accordion was added to the fast beat and the sound of clapping hands, sirens and a pure rush of enjoyment taking me back to my own time. To a life I suddenly missed dearly...

My body was already moving by this time, taken by the sound of the reggaeton song I knew well. A voice was already calling me to move in a way I doing so now, an erotic dance that called for gyrating hips and heaving breasts on the dance floor.

"I wanna see you wiggle it a little, baby!"

I turned around and thrust my breasts up, catching Garrus off guard as I allowed the music to flow through me. My hips moving to the fast beat and my ass was bouncing in a way that made me feel as if I was a mother goddess incarnate. It was the alcohol I'm sure...

"Turn around! Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle, just a little bit!"

The chorus was already going strong and with each command to turn around, my body did so, gyrating and grinding against the very prone form of the turian beneath me. An alternative of human breasts and ass were grinding against him but I didn't think anything of it. He wouldn't find my human body at all attractive. In fact, I was hoping I was disgusting him to the point of making me stop. That was why I chose him. No turian male would find a human woman attractive in their right mind. Since I was nice and drunk, my sensibility going out the window, I counted on him to be the voice of reason.

However, the longer the song went on, the longer I danced. The more I gyrated and thrust against him, giving him this impromptu lap dance, the more I decided to lose myself in the music. Well, if he wasn't going to stop this than might as well keep using him as an inanimate dance pole...

I was having fun anyway.

In the back of my mind, a part of me wanted him to speak... Just to hear that delicious voice of his... It would have made this so much for fun.

I couldn't keep the smile from my face as I turned around and suddenly straddled the turian's lap. "Hold onto me Angel," I said to him as the drum beat became more erratic. He barely had time to reach out and grasp my hips to keep me from falling as I began to grind against him. I threw my arms back, my hips and ass gyrating against his lap, his hands now reaching up to grip my waist as I leaned back. I closed my eyes, losing myself in the music, each gyrating motion building to a crescendo with the music until it all came to a final release where the drums beat faster and faster, the music gaining in speed, the vocals crying for more, until finally it all gave out and the music stopped, the last tune being the accordion playing to a halt.

I let loose the breath I had held and pulled myself back into a sitting position. I was met with a pair of shocked blue eyes and a gaping turian mouth. The alcohol in me made me feel braver than I should have been. I reached out to close his mouth and got up from his lap. I glanced at Kelly Chambers, who was now laughing so hard she could barely breathe.

"Hey, chica," I said, snapping my fingers to get her attention. She sat up and bit her lip, a choking sound emerging from her throat. I ignored it and held out my hands, "Do you still want me to teach you?"

"Um... YES," she said, her smile growing bright as she got up from her seat. "When can we start?" She walked over to me and wrapped her arm through my own, dragging me out of the mess hall and toward the crews' quarters. We were both so tipsy that we had ignored the crowd that had gathered to watch the lap dance I had given. We pushed our way through and kept on walking, enjoying a few giggles.

As we walked away, we had left Garrus Vakarian sitting in the mess hall, a slight twitch in his right eye. His mouth was still slightly open, his mandibles twitching every few seconds. I had no idea just how much of an impression I had left on the turian I had personally started to call Angel.

Needless to say, sensuality runs deep. When the call for it is heeded, it bears no mind to whom or what may have brought it about. Instinct rules and where instinct comes into play, it is an insanity that the sensible mind could never understand.


	13. Twelve

Chapter 12

_Garrus_

_Garrus! Garrus, stay with me! Open your eyes! I need you to look at me, Angel!_

That voice that had spoken to me had trembled with emotion. Yet... there had been a determined strength within it. A kind of take-charge attitude that told me this person, this human female, knew what to do to keep me alive.

I had done as she asked, had focused on her brown eyes as I had struggled to take in each painful breath. Her small hands had pressed tightly against the wound in my neck. She had slowed the blood flow. I had watched as she applied what was left of her medi-gel. I had watched as the focused look on her face had flickered with brief panic. There had not been enough. Her eyes had flicked quickly about, searching for something, before her gaze settled on her left arm. Without hesitation, she had proceeded to rip off the pieces of the armor on her arm only to then rip the sleeve of her clothing underneath with some effort. She had then turned back to me and used the sleeve of her own clothing to staunch the wound. I had never seen such a thing in this day and age. Medi-gel had always been the way humans I had seen attended to their own...

To do something as ripping off your own armor- your own clothing- in the middle of a battlefield was not something a normal human would have done for a turian. At least, not the ones I had come across before meeting Shepard. Yet, she had no qualms with weakening her own protection if it meant keeping me alive.

It had worked.

The blood flow had ceased slightly. I had to say, I had been surprised but impressed. This human was serious in her endeavors to keep me alive. I could be thankful for that. I had faded somewhat, the sounds around me coming in a muffle as I slipped in and out of consciousness.

_Angel, I need you stay focused on me... know it's hard... have to stay awake. Can you do that for me?_

Her voice had broken through the fog. It took some effort but I had focused my gaze on hers again and struggled to reach up to place my hand over hers.

_Good... breathe slowly... keep your heart calm... blood pressure low... don't lose... blood... can do that?_

I had trouble focusing on her words so I had kept my gaze on hers, blinking once to show that I heard her. I had tried again to take in a breath but there had been more blood than air. She had spoken to me in gentle, soothing tones, easing me into breathing slowly, keeping me calm. I stared at her, breathing carefully and slowly, listening to her encouragement. Shepard had appeared over her shoulder at that moment, resting a hand there in a way that spoke familiarity as she gazed down at me with worry. I had looked at my old friend and could see the look in those blue-grey eyes I knew so well. Shepard trusted this woman to take care of me. That was all I had needed to see to feel myself begin to relax even further. For the first time in these last several hectic moments, the fear of losing my life had ebbed away to faint hope.

Maybe I would make it.

The commander had spoken with her about my status. I listened intently as she plainly stated that I needed immediate medical attention. Attention that she could not give with what little supplies they had. The entire time she had continued to ease me through the breathing, her voice washing over me like a balm. I had never noticed how... nice... some human's voices could be. Maybe it was the blood loss or maybe it was this woman in particular, but I was feeling as if the sound of her voice was helping to sooth my tension and ease some of my pain. It would have been easy for me to slip away to sleep if she had continued speak in such a way.

_In Angel... That's it... Keep breathing. Stay focused on me_.

So... soothing...

_He's not gonna make it..._

The gruff voice that had spoken had belonged to the old merc. It had pulled me back into focus and I had looked up, seeing the look of anger on her face as she had focused her gaze on him.

_He'll be fine once we get him to the med bay!_

I had squeezed her hand, trying to reassure her that I wasn't worried. I wanted to tell her that I trusted her to help me. All I could manage were a few gurgled breaths. She had looked down at me then, those deep brown eyes filled with concern and determination.

_You'll be _fine_ handsome. Just stay with me..._

Handsome? I don't think a human had ever called me that before. She must have been really desperate to keep me calm. Not that I was in any place to complain. Not that I would...

Shepard had given her some more medi-gel packs from her own suit before getting on her comm unit. She had worked diligently to apply the medi-gel to the wound to seal it completely. Her small hands were gentle but experienced.

_Keep breathing Angel. You've made it this far..._

I had focused my gaze back on hers and blinked up at her, trying to convey to her my gratitude the moment I saw the small smile she gave.

She had been there next to me through the entire journey to the Normandy and on toward the med bay. She had kept a firm hold on my hand, speaking to me in that soothing tone, telling me that I was doing well. That I was going to be all right. I couldn't keep the smile from my face despite the trouble breathing. She had really had a calming air about her that kept one from panicking in life or death situations.

She had been stopped by Dr. Chakwas the moment we made it into the med bay. I listened as the doctor had told her that she needed to get rest for herself. She had protested and continued to protest until the doctor had to pry her fingers from my own. I was surprised that I had not wanted to let go of her either. She had been such a calming presence but I could see the trembling in her body, the exhaustion in her eyes. I had slowly let go.

Dr. Chakwas was right. She needed to rest.

I watched as Shepard took her from the med bay, her gaze never leaving my own. The worry was still there. I could say that I had been more worried for her than I had been for myself at that moment.

-o-

In the end, I had been saved.

A bit of surgery and some cybernetics had me up and about quicker than expected.

I had met Shepard in the communications room where she was speaking with one of the Cerberus operatives, a human male by the name of Jacob Taylor. He seemed to have his heart in the right place. Too bad it was in league with Cerberus.

A few words were spoken about my new scars, a joke from Shepard stating I had always been ugly. Slapping some face paint on my scars would help to keep anyone from noticing. I couldn't help but laugh at that and gave her a smile; despite how awful the right side of my face was feeling. I may have made a comment where some women found scars attractive though I countered that statement being most of those women were krogan...

Shepard had only shaken her head in amusement. Taylor had decided it would be a good time for him to dismiss himself and he saluted the commander before taking his leave. I had waited until he had left before turning to my old friend, taking the time to truly study her. She looked about the same, the short auburn hair and the alert blue-grey eyes, but there were faint scars along her jaw line and cheekbones that were glowing a soft red. I wondered exactly what had happened to her. How had she been alive when all reports about the original Normandy had placed her as dead?

I had wanted to ask but the doors to the communications room had opened at that moment and a voice I had not been expecting to hear filled my senses.

"Jane, you wanted to s-" Surprise had halted her voice for but a moment and then I could hear the hesitant- yet hopeful- tone as her voice was directed my way. "Angel?"

I turned my head slightly at the question in her voice, her little nickname for me bringing an unexpected feeling of warmth in my heart. Archangel was a good name, a strong name. She had shortened it to something she felt comfortable with during that battle on Omega and I was surprised to find that I had liked it a lot.

It was more personable.

More... easy on the tongue, so to speak.

I would have to do more research on this human terminology of an angel as opposed to an archangel. I knew there was a difference but I couldn't recall what it was for the life of me.

A smile had lifted my mandibles just a fraction; pure joy at seeing the woman who had essentially saved my life being the true reason. It had to be. "Estella," I had said in greeting, turning around to properly face her. I wouldn't outright admit it but her name was fun to say. It rolled off the tongue easily. "I'm surprised to see I'm up before you."

I had studied her much as I had Shepard. Without the heat of battle to distract, without the armor covering, I could see that there was something different about her compared to most of the human females I had seen before. She was much shorter than the norm and her body was more... _pronounced_ than other females I had seen close to her height range. She was wearing strange clothing, a dark blue shirt with bell like sleeves that had a unique white stitching along the neckline and hemlines and dark pants that flared slightly around her booted feet. Like all humans her hair was a defining feature, a dark brown that matched her eyes, and left loose to fall in a straight, layered, way below her shoulders.

Humans were not what one would consider attractive in any way to a turian what with their soft flesh and talon-less hands, the strangeness of that hair sprouting from their heads. Spirits, did they have hair everywhere. They made most turians cringe in disgust just thinking about them in any way other than as a potential enemy or ally. I certainly wouldn't have been the first to declare having a fetish for humans. Shepard was one the few who I could look at without these thoughts plucking me from my subconscious.

I could say, without hesitation, that this one human woman was also... _different_.

I didn't know if it had been because she had helped in saving my life or because Shepard trusted her that made me see her in a different light. She had stared up at me, a mix of emotions that flickered across her features before the tears had spilled down over her cheeks. Her breathing had become more erratic and had started to hitch, as if she were fighting down whatever her body was trying to do. Concern had been my first reaction and I had taken a step toward her, reaching out a hand. A move I had not meant to do but too late to retract. "Hey now, what's-"

"I'm happy to see you're all right," was all she had said to me, her voice thick with emotion, as she had furiously wiped the tears away. Her voice, despite the tightness of her throat, was soft and soothing, as if trying to reassure my concern for her. It had washed over me much as it had back on Omega and I immediately had felt myself relax, the tension easing itself from my body. It was a strange reaction and I had become tense again, this time in confusion.

That had been... different.

She had turned her attention back to Shepard, discussed the need for their meeting, which had concerned her report about their recent mission. Shepard had glanced at me as they spoke, a look in her eyes that I couldn't read well. Estella's gaze had followed suit and our gazes had locked before she had quickly looked away.

They continued to speak about the report before she gave a nod and said would have the report on Shepard's desk in several hours. Shepard had looked somewhat surprised by her sudden clinical tone but waved her off in dismissal.

Estella had turned at that moment and left the room, never once looking at me.

Confusion was the only reaction I could describe that I had felt at that moment the door had closed behind her. I didn't know why I was so concerned over the fact that she was upset about something. I suppose knowing that an essential stranger had kept you from death's door was incentive enough to show concern for their well-being in return. The fact that Shepard was showing the same concern was a telling sight. This was someone who she trusted to watch her back should the need call for it. One who had earned the Commander's trust. She certainly had for me.

"She was really worried about you," Shepard had said before she had looked at me. "Thinks it's her fault that you had been hurt." She had caught my questioning gaze, the unasked question, and she had shaken her head in response. "She didn't say as much to me but I could see it in her when I took her to my cabin to get some rest. She had been hesitant to leave you. I had only seen that in people who felt responsibility for whatever had happened." She paused slightly before letting loose a sigh. "You might want to talk to her when you get the chance Garrus. This was her first mission. She's not used to the fighting."

"I thought you said she was a nurse," I had said, the question could be heard in my tone.

Shepard gave a nod. "She is... was... Her job had been to care for people prior to, during and after major surgeries. Fighting wasn't in her job description." She frowned lightly at that as she folded her arms. "You should know. You have firsthand experience in how efficient she is. She will make sure you will survive if it is that last thing she could do." She had smiled at that before her smile had turned thoughtful. "She has an interesting history Garrus. One I think would be better explained by her. Or the files of her. One thing I like about her is that she believes in honesty among teammates. She allows access to all the files about her once you gain her trust. Files that would explain what had happened to me these past two years." She had looked away at this and closed her eyes. "All I can tell you is that I don't know if I would be standing here with you now if El hadn't survived."

"I don't understand. Who is she?"

Shepard had looked at me at that moment and gave the first real smile I had seen on her face since boarding this ship. "She's a friend."

I wasn't going to get more of an answer than that.

I had left the communications room after a short discussion about the lack of trust toward Shepard's benefactors. I had made my way down familiar, yet different, corridors toward the elevator. The entire time, my thoughts were on the strange human woman who had become an unexpected ally by saving my life.

Estella Moreno... Who exactly are you that Shepard would trust you?

-o-

It would be several days before I would see her again.

Over that time period, I found myself learning little things here and there about the woman who had managed to worm her way into my daily thoughts. She was under the direct employ of Miranda Lawson, therefore Cerberus, though for what purpose was not disclosed. She was a relative of Joker's, some misplaced cousin or something. I nearly laughed when I had found out. Like the galaxy needed a female version of Joker. I hope she was not too similar to that pilot.

I had also learned that she was training under Dr. Chakwas to gain her licensing in nursing. She was learning to treat all species, not just humans. It was something that made me feel surprisingly better about my first opinion of her. Knowing for sure that she was not a xenophobic bigot like the majority of Cerberus was a plus.

She was as Shepard made her out to be: honest. At least honest enough. There were things I was sure she still kept to herself that no one really knew. Shepard and a select few others were privy to those secrets. Joker, the doctor, even a few of the Cerberus operatives. However, the ones I felt comfortable asking about her had nothing more to say of her save other than that she was a good person.

I wondered of her as Shepard began to make plans of starting another recruitment mission to get the aid of a Salarian known as Mordin Solus. I had heard of the doctor both during and before my stay on Omega. Cerberus was getting desperate if they were looking to get aid from outside sources...

Those had been the thoughts running through my mind the moment I had left the Main Battery room and toward the mess hall. I was heading to the communications room, looking to speak with Shepard about the upcoming mission, when a familiar voice was hollering at me from across the way.

"Woo hoo! Angel! Come over here! I need you for a second!"

I paused in mid-step, my gaze searching for the source of the holler, only to be met by a sight I had not been expecting. "Es-Estella?"

Estella Moreno was smiling brightly at me, a complete change from what she had been several days earlier. Today, she was wearing clothing that was a little more form-fitting. A pair of dark blue pants that were snug about her legs and a deep red shirt that conformed to the shape of her torso rather nicely, the sleeves ending just below her elbows. Her hair was tied up into a haphazard knot at the top of her head. She was unlike any of the orderly uniformed Cerberus operatives I had seen around this ship so far. In fact she was more of a chaotic mess in comparison so it was not hard to see why I had been caught by surprise.

Estella had frowned at the question in my voice when I said her name. She had placed her small hands on her hips, a motion that seemed to accentuate her waist in a way that caught an instinctual part of myself I hadn't expected. "What other human do you see on this ship who's this thick?" she said, her words coming out slightly slurred. It sounded as if she had a few drinks in her system already.

I couldn't think of what to say in answer to her question. In all honesty, she was correct in her question. Throughout my entire life, my interactions with humans had shown the species to be slender and athletic. This particular human, while appearing healthy, was shaped in a way I had never seen in a human before.

Shorter.

Thicker.

Her body type was not commonly seen among humans. It was something that made her stick out like a sore thumb among her fellow humans let alone amongst the other galactic species.

"C'mon, I need you now," she said as she moved over to me and took me by the hand.

"Wh-wha?" was all I could say in reply as she pulled me over to the nearest table and down on to an empty seat beside the commander's yeoman. The other human woman was smiling in a way that had me worried.

"Don't move, I need you for a demonstration," she said as I looked up at her in confusion. She then turned to the yeoman and told the other woman that she was only going to do this once and to play the third track.

The next five minutes seemed to happen in a sudden daze...

-o-

_How could a human move like that? I had seen humans dancing and this was nothing like what she was doing now...Oh Spirits, I never knew human women could bounce like that... The way her hips keep in rhythm with this drumbeat... This music..._

_That waist... Curved._

_Strong._

_Supportive._

_She is a bit top-heavy but she moves so..._

_Wait... What is she doing now?_

_"Hold onto me Angel."_

_Damn her voice. How can she sound so soothing even while drunk?_

_She's sitting on my lap. Why...?_

_Oh... She's moving like before... Is this some kind of ritual of trust?_

_OH! Don't fall-_

_…_

_…_

_…_

_…_

_... Too close..._

_Don't move like that... Please don't..._

_Oh Spirits, she is right _there_. Please don't move-_

_…Oh fuck..._

_...How can her waist just-_

_…?!_

_…No, no, no, please don't wiggle like that..._

_…!_

_…_

_…_

_..._


End file.
